Side-by-side
Delta Forge 1 vs Emerging Central/North Louisiana AI Infrastructure
Two Louisiana AI data center projects, compared on operator, parish, status, focus, and what to watch next. Click into either project for full detail and source citations.
| Attribute | Delta Forge 1 | Emerging Central/North Louisiana AI Infrastructure |
|---|---|---|
| Operator | Applied Digital | Multiple (LED pipeline) |
| Parent | Applied Digital Corporation | Louisiana Economic Development |
| Parish | Rapides Parish (near Boyce) | Various (statewide monitoring) |
| Status | Under construction — Delta Forge 1 broke ground in January 2026 | Early pipeline / to be verified |
| Category | AI compute & high-performance computing | AI & digital infrastructure |
| Summary | Louisiana Economic Development announced Delta Forge 1 as a $3.6 billion Rapides Parish AI factory build. Applied Digital describes 430 MW of total utility power, up to 300 MW of critical IT load, and initial operations targeted for mid-2027. Local reporting documented Project Lightning as an internal development codename; LouisianAI retains it in the stable legacy slug. | Louisiana Economic Development is actively courting additional AI data center and compute projects following the success of Meta, Amazon, and Hut 8 announcements. |
| Why it matters | Watch Cleco delivery work, any project-specific LPSC proceedings, and the unresolved site-size scopes: Applied Digital has described more than 500 and more than 600 acres, while Louisiana's rollout describes approximately 300 acres for the two initial facilities. | Statewide momentum creates broad opportunities in construction, power infrastructure, cybersecurity, cooling tech, and AI-adjacent services. Early signals often appear in tax incentive applications and utility filings. |
LouisianAI comparison pages cross-link source-backed project detail. For any commercial or regulatory decision, consult the primary filings linked from the project detail pages.