Oakland-based developer Orion Renewable Energy Group is facing pushback over its proposed $1.7 billion Persimmon Energy Center, a 1,000 MW solar and energy storage project spanning approximately 4,700 acres in North Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana.
The project, which has been in development alongside local landowner partners since 2019, is sited across rural and residential areas in Moss Bluff, DeQuincy, and Gillis. If completed, the facility would generate enough electricity to power roughly 200,000 average Louisiana homes annually.
Despite the project’s scale and projected economic output, local opposition has emerged. Louisiana State Representative Brett Geymann (R–District 35) has voiced opposition alongside nearby residents, raising concerns over land use, alterations to the rural character of the community, and potential impacts on local property values. Geymann argued that utility-scale industrial developments are ill-suited for areas that function primarily as residential bedroom communities.
In response to land-use and aesthetic concerns, Orion outlined several mitigation measures and community benefit initiatives on its project site. The developer plans to implement 50-foot retained tree buffers along adjacent property lines and public roads, supplemented by planted greenspace buffers featuring native trees and shrubs to screen the facility.
To address environmental and site management concerns, Orion plans to install wildlife-friendly game fencing around the perimeter to preserve local wildlife corridors, paired with customized ground cover vegetation to mitigate soil erosion and manage stormwater runoff.
The developer projects the facility will generate an estimated $470 million in local tax revenue over a 35-year operational lifecycle to fund emergency services, public schools, and parish infrastructure.
Additionally, Orion introduced a voluntary Solar Neighbor Program that offers annual disbursements to non-participating homeowners located within one-third of a mile from the project boundary. These neighbor payments will escalate by 30% every ten years and remain tied to the property deed across future ownership changes.
Before starting construction, the developer must provide funds to guarantee the site will be fully restored when operations end, and sign binding agreements with the parish to pay for any road damage caused by their construction traffic.
Developer Aypa Power has proposed the nearby Cajun Crescent Energy Center, a 375 MW, 2,000-acre project on the east side of Moss Bluff.
The surge in utility-scale project proposals across the state comes as Louisiana experiences unprecedented growth in data center development, driven by hyperscalers seeking low power costs and heavy utility support. Projects like Meta’s multi-gigawatt Richland Parish campus and multi-billion-dollar AI facilities from Amazon, Hut 8, and Applied Digital have placed immense pressure on the regional grid. To meet this skyrocketing demand, primary utility Entergy Louisiana has been aggressively procuring generation capacity, including gigawatts of new solar resources alongside natural gas expansion.
Development and permitting discussions in Calcasieu Parish remain ongoing as local officials and community members weigh the proposed 1 GW installation against regional land-use priorities.
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