Data centers in Orleans Parish, Louisiana: 1 project mapped

Imagery: Esri, Maxar

New Orleans shut the door on data centers in January 2026 before the first one had formally applied. MS Solar Grid Data, a company founded in 2025 that markets solar-powered data centers under the name Data One Eastern Rise, sent letters in November 2025 announcing plans for a two-phase data center on vacant land at 10251 I-10 W Service Road and 10200 Plainfield Drive, near Interstate 10 and Read Boulevard in New Orleans East. It sought a rezoning from single-family residential to auto-oriented commercial, because the city code had no category for data centers. Residents objected over water, the strain on the Entergy grid and environmental harm. The Alliance for Affordable Energy said the project would "perpetuate environmental racism" in a predominantly African American and Vietnamese American community long burdened by industry. A Change.org petition drew more than 200 signatures.

At a special meeting in late January, the City Council passed two motions. One tells the City Planning Commission to define data centers in the zoning ordinance and set standards for them. The other creates an interim zoning district pausing data center licenses and approvals citywide for at least a year. District E council member Jason Hughes, who represents New Orleans East, told residents "we have heard you loud and clear." "We are not a sprawling 700 mile parish. We are New Orleans," Council President JP Morrell said. Former mayoral candidate Frank Scurlock backed the project for the tax revenue. MS Solar Grid Data's chief executive, James Ramsey, who also runs JC Property Management, said the council had announced "that we're a city that don't know what the future is" and that the center would have brought 30 to 40 permanent jobs. He said he would look to another parish and had no new plans for the Read Boulevard site. The City Planning Commission must next write the zoning standards for data centers, and the council could extend the pause when it expires in January 2027.

Every project above is drawn from public records, filings and local reporting. Each row links to what it is based on. Statuses change, so check the source date before you rely on one. Found something wrong? Write to [email protected] and it gets fixed.