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New Orleans City Council bans data centers for a year after concerns over potential development

By The Associated Press

The New Orleans City Council passed a yearlong ban on data centers in New Orleans and began an effort to clarify zoning regulations for new data center projects on Wednesday (Jan. 28). The vote will head off any data center development in New Orleans East, which has drawn concerns about energy and water consumption from neighbors and local politicians, including Mayor Helena Moreno.

Data centers are currently not defined in the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance, according to Councilmember JP Morrell, who introduced both motions alongside Councilmember Jason Hughes. Morrell said that the city cannot ban data center developments permanently without a definition.

“In order to ban data centers you have to define them,” Morrell said. “When you don’t define an item, you create loopholes for it to exist.”

The council is making the move out of “an abundance of caution,” according to language in the motion issuing the ban. The moratorium, called an interim zoning district, takes effect immediately while the City Planning Commission starts a review process and makes recommendations on zoning uses for data centers.

But some community advocates who attended Wednesday’s special council meeting said that creating a new business category for data centers in zoning law may create an opportunity for the current council, or a future council, to permit them in the city once the ban is lifted.

“With this language in the motion set forward, you are paving a pathway for potentially a data center to be developed in the future after the interim zoning district is over,” said Osarumwense Adun, who has vocally opposed the motions in the days leading up to the meeting.

Morrell pushed back against recently circulated social media videos criticizing the council for its proposed legislation, and noted that there will be opportunities for public engagement throughout.

“(Interim zoning districts) exist so we can stop building while we figure out what we’re doing,” Morrell said “We want to move quickly on to defining this, to block this.”

Multiple people who attended the meeting criticized the council for allowing for an appeals process that could lead to a data center being built. Morrell noted that city law requires the council to create an appeals process.

“You’re entitled to your own opinion but not entitled to your own facts,” Morrell said at the meeting.

Though, as Hughes pointed out, interim zoning districts are limited to a single year, residents noted that there needs to be a long term solution to the problem when the year expires.

Moreno says no on data centers

The City Council decision follows a proposal, still in its preliminary stages, to build a data center near Interstate 10 and Read Boulevard in New Orleans East. The project would require the proposed site to be rezoned, and the City Planning Commission has not received any proposals or applications from the developer, MS Solar Grid Data, CPC Executive Director Robert Rivers told the council.

The company in December held a neighborhood meeting to discuss the plan with area residents, a required step before submitting a zoning change application.

A letter announcing the meeting stated that the company was requesting a zoning change from single-family residential district zoning to commercial district for two plots of land in the East, specifically to create a “two-phase commercial technology data center.”

Moreno recently took to Instagram to voice her opposition to the project, which she said she only found out about through the news.

“I’m working in collaboration with the New Orleans City Council to prevent projects like this from happening in our neighborhood,” Moreno said.

Some residents in the area say that the project will have negative environmental impacts, cause noise and light pollution, and lower property values.

A chief concern for data centers is the vast amount of power they use, potentially stressing local grids or requiring new electrical generation. Entergy has begun construction on new power plants to serve a new Meta data center in northeast Louisiana.

MS Solar Grid Data, which was established in early 2024 according to state business records, aims to build solar-powered data centers, according to the company’s website. Residents and members of the council have also expressed concerns about data centers’ typically heavy water usage. But as the company has not submitted plans to the city, little information is available about the New Orleans East project, its planned energy use or its water needs. James Ramsey III, CEO of MS Solar Grid Data, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the proposal or the City Council’s ban.

“Where is Mr. Ramsey? Is he in the room?” asked Dawn Hebert, president of the East New Orleans Neighborhood Advisory Committee, saying that calls to the company have gone unanswered. “The energy, the water, the noise, this will definitely enter that residential neighborhood that joins this particular property.

Nationwide surge in data centers sparks resident concerns

The push against massive data centers has been widespread nationally as tech companies look for cheap land to build on to keep up with demand from artificial intelligence, with 3,000 new data centers planned as of 2025, according to reporting from Axios. Data centers require a significant amount of land and pull massive amounts of energy and water, according to Tulane Water Law, which makes rural areas better suited for their structural needs.

But as companies across the country have proposed data centers — heavily in states such as Texas and Virginia — residents in neighboring areas have pushed back.

In Louisiana nearby residents have vocally opposed tech giant Meta’s plans to build what will be the world’s largest data center in Richland Parish — a 4 million square foot hub for artificial intelligence with a price tag that skyrocketed from $10 billion to $27 billion.

Per Meta, the construction will employ over 5,000, with 500 operational jobs after the project is finished. But since construction began, the area has also seen a 600% spike in vehicle crashes and notable noise pollution.

With Wednesday’s motions passed, the City Planning Commission will make recommendations to the Council at a public meeting in roughly two months.

“At the end of the day this is a major first step,” Hughes said.

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This story was originally published by Verite News and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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