WEST FELICIANA - Hut 8, an artificial intelligence data center developer building an AI data center in West Feliciana Parish, said another company has signed a long-term deal to use the facility on Wednesday.

Anthropic, a company whose Claude chatbot rivals ChatGPT, is partnering with Hut 8 and Fluidstack to create infrastructure for the data center.

The deal, a 15-year $7 billion agreement with Fluidstack, a developer and operator for AI data centers, will allow Anthropic to use the facility, which previously broke ground in September.

The first phase of the project is projected to create a 611-acre square campus and provide 330 megawatts of power from a power substation currently under construction near La. 964.

According to West Feliciana Parish President Kenny Harvard, the project is expected to create about 1,500 construction jobs and about 100 permanent jobs upon completion. 

"I am excited, and our whole community has been excited about this possibility for a year. We have a blank canvas. This is a chance for us to be number one in something," Harvard said. 

Commissioner Davante Lewis plans to introduce a rulemaking docket to the Louisiana Public Service Commission on Wednesday to create a policy addressing the new data centers. The policy aims to evaluate the unique energy demands of new projects and create protections for existing ratepayers, long-term grid reliability and prevention of cost-shifts.

"Hyperscaling large load customers brings opportunity, but without clear rules, they can also bring real risk," Lewis said. "Red, blue, or people, every state in the country is figuring out the most responsible way to power these projects."