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Applied Digital Plans Rapides Parish, Louisiana, Operations

06/04/2026
Digital infrastructure company Applied Digital plans to establish operations in Rapides Parish, Louisiana. The $3.6 billion project is expected to create 200 jobs.

The investment will include the construction of an artificial intelligence data center campus, known as Forge 1, built for large-scale AI training and inference workloads and featuring two facilities totaling 300 megawatts of critical IT load. Initial operations are scheduled to begin in mid-2027.

“Central Louisiana is exactly the kind of community we had in mind when we set out to build Applied Digital, a region with strong roots, abundant potential, and people who understand the value of long-term investment,” said Wes Cummins, Chairman and CEO of Applied Digital. “We’re honored to bring Delta Forge 1 to Rapides Parish, and we are committed to being a supportive, engaged partner in this community for the long haul.”

To support the project, Applied Digital qualified for Louisiana’s state and local sales and use tax exemption on qualifying purchases or leases of data center equipment established under Act 730 of the 2024 Regular Legislative Session.

“Today, Louisiana is competing differently. With stronger alignment, greater speed and a clear focus, we are seeing unprecedented momentum and growth reach every region of our state,” noted Louisiana Economic Development (LED) Secretary Susan B. Bourgeois. “This announcement reinforces that global technology companies see Louisiana as a place where they can expand, scale and invest with confidence while creating meaningful outcomes for our people and communities.”

Applied Digital develops, owns, and operates data centers designed to support high-performance computing and artificial intelligence workloads. The company’s operations include data center development, infrastructure management, and computing capacity services for technology and enterprise customers.

“This is the largest economic development opportunity in Cleco’s 90-plus year history and reflects the region’s growing competitive position for major infrastructure and technology investments,” Cleco President and CEO Bill Fontenot added. “This investment reflects the potential that many of us here in Central Louisiana have long known existed, and we see it as the beginning of even greater possibilities for our region. Cleco is proud to support transformative investments, like the data center project, that deliver meaningful economic impact while maintaining the affordability, reliability and value our customers expect and deserve.”

“This project has the potential to be one of the most transformational in the history of Rapides Parish,” said Chris Masingill, President and CEO of Louisiana Central. “In both scale and impact, it positions Central Louisiana to compete for major economic opportunities in ways we haven’t seen in generations.”

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