Trying to answer a few questions in the Inbox. Was asked how the power produced from solar farms in Sabine Parish will be used.
In researching, I learned that the biggest winner from the giant solar farm being built now in the parish is one of the largest tech companies in the world. While we lose precious timber and forest land in our Sportsman’s Paradise rural parish, and while residents near the farm report seeing their own paradise vanish, the project will clear the way for the parent company of Facebook to grow exponentially.
Okay… so here is some information … the Hollis Creek Solar Project (in Belmont / Mt Zion area) is currently under construction and spans some 2,300 acres of formerly timber / forest land (this hurts my heart… I have no idea how or why they call these project “green.” It simply can not be true that they are green when all is said and done and this is the opinion of someone who is a bit of a “tree hugger” … just can’t imagine how this type of “farm” can be considered “green”. )
Opinions aside, construction on this project began in January and commercial operations will begin early next year. The number of solar panels (modules) for this project is not disclosed though from looking at projects this size… possibly hundreds of thousands of modules are involved.
Contractors and Key Partners of the project are as follows: • Construction of the photovoltaic (PV) array: Primoris Renewable Energy (located in Aurora, Colorado. • High-voltage interconnection facilities: Beta Engineering (offices in San Diego and in Pineville, La. • Single-axis trackers: Nextpower (located in Fremont, California. • Developer/Owner/Operator: Treaty Oak Clean Energy (Texas-based IPP). Project leadership ties to CEO and co-founder Chris Elrod.
The total cost for the project is not publicly disclosed anywhere I n detail. Treaty Oak has stated they are unable to release the full figure. In utility-scale solar projects, the debt typically covers a large majority (often 60–80% or more, depending on structure, tax equity, etc.), with the remainder coming from equity contributed by the project sponsor/owner. The debt portion is $399 million in non-recourse senior secured credit facilities. This is project-level borrowing (the lenders’ recourse is limited to the project itself and its revenues, not Treaty Oak’s other assets). It was arranged with a syndicate of banks including SMBC (coordinating lead), ING Capital, Crédit Agricole CIB, MUFG, and National Australia Bank. Financing closed in December 2025.
This is a 200 Megawatt alternative current project. Based on a $2+ per watt (common range for recent U.S. solar farms with trackers and interconnection) this could land in the 500+ million total range before any incentives or optimizations.
The actual electricity sold into the Entergy grid will generate revenue from power sales (likely under market or contracted terms). This revenue stream supports debt repayment and returns to equity investors. No direct taxpayer subsidies are highlighted in the financing announcements, though state and local tax credits as well as federal ITC tax credits and other incentives are common in such projects.
When it comes down to it, and I’ll just offer my blunt opinion, from what I have found, this solar farm will first and foremost benefit Meta, the parent company of Facebook. These solar projects are at their core about carbon credits, and Meta will be the recipient of the coveted credits for this project.
Under the PPA with Meta Platforms, Inc., Meta purchases all environmental attributes (including renewable energy certificates or RECs).
These allow Meta to claim the carbon reduction benefits toward its sustainability and net-zero goals for its nearby AI data center operations. The actual electricity flows to the local grid, but the “green” credits go to Meta.
At this solar farm, no battery energy storage system (BESS) is mentioned for Hollis Creek. It will be “on-demand” / intermittent only—generation occurs when the sun is shining (with single-axis trackers optimizing output). No storage means output varies with sunlight and feeds the grid in real time.
Output ramps up in the morning, peaks midday, and drops in the evening. No batteries means it can’t shift energy to evenings or cloudy periods.
This is a grid-tied utility-scale project interconnected to Entergy Louisiana’s system in the MISO (Midcontinent Independent System Operator) Southern footprint. The grid operator balances supply and demand in real time using a mix of resources (gas, nuclear, other renewables, etc.).
The electricity flows directly into the local Entergy/MISO grid and is used by whoever needs it at the time (homes, businesses, data centers, etc.).
In my curiosity about potential “wasted” energy, I learned Louisiana currently has very low solar penetration compared to states such as California and Texas. (Louisiana’s humid subtropical climate has decent but noticeably lower potential for solar power production than any of the Southwestern United States). With only modest existing solar and strong load growth (including Meta’s data center and other industrial demand in the region), there’s ample grid capacity to take the power during peak solar hours.
Basically, a local project won’t produce anywhere close to production from these farms in more ideal climates such as what is found in the Southwestern US … however, due to the data centers and other demands being added in this state, energy demands are growing in the state.
I didn’t expect to go so into depth here but there is so much to learn. In a nutshell, this project to me seems primarily critical for Meta, a $1.7 trillion (and rapidly growing) company.
RECs (Renewable Energy Certificates) are critical to Meta’s overall sustainability strategy, public claims, and ability to manage its massive and rapidly growing energy footprint—especially for AI-driven data centers.
This is particularly essential to Meta for the following reasons:
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100% Renewable Matching Goal. Since 2020, Meta has claimed to match 100% of its annual electricity use (offices + owned/operated data centers) with clean/renewable energy. RECs (or similar Energy Attribute Certificates) are the primary accounting tool that lets them do this. They “unbundle” the green attributes from the physical electricity so Meta can claim the benefits even when the actual power on the grid is a mix (including fossil fuels).
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Net-Zero and Emissions Reporting: Meta’s 2030 goal is net-zero emissions across its value chain. Data centers dominate its operational energy use and emissions. RECs help keep reported Scope 2 (purchased electricity) emissions extremely low on paper, supporting carbon-neutrality claims and progress toward science-based targets.
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Scale of Need: Meta’s data center electricity consumption was already ~15 TWh in 2023 and is surging with AI (training and inference for models like Llama). Global data center demand is exploding, and Meta is one of the world’s largest corporate renewable energy buyers (contracting for tens of GW cumulatively).
The Hollis Creek project fits this pattern: Meta buys the environmental attributes/RECs via long-term agreements, helping it match consumption while adding new solar capacity to the Louisiana grid near its Richland Parish AI data center.
The next project in Sabine is still in the planning stages but I believe it is getting closer to the land clearing stage. I will research this and provide information I can find. I understand it will be located between Many and Fisher.
Personally, I am hoping for a small miracle that leaves this project some how being scrapped for the betterment of our rural community. I have read so much about the inconveniences and the negative impacts to the quality of life that these projects have brought about including this very one at Hollis Creek.
I welcome any comments. If I have any facts incorrect or off, please feel free to provide input. And I truly welcome friendly and cordial debate (please note the adjectives… I really don’t want any trolling or hate!) on my opinions.