One Nuclear inks binding LOI to develop 2.88GW gas plant and BESS to power data center in Louisiana

At a site between Baton Rouge and New Orleans

US energy firm One Nuclear has signed a binding Letter of Intent (LOI) with a “prominent Louisiana landowner group” to develop a 2.88GW natural gas plant and a 700MW/2.88GWh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) project colocated with a data center in southern Louisiana.

The development, dubbed Project Cayman, is located near Louisiana’s RiverPlex MegaPark, located between Baton Rouge and New Orleans.

“Project Cayman, with its 2.88GW power capacity, demonstrates that One Nuclear is committed to supporting the future economic development of one of Louisiana’s most important industrial regions,” said Richard Taylor, CEO of One Nuclear.

“The project will deliver the reliable energy needed to support new investment, create jobs, expand the local tax base and generate additional funding for community priorities and critical infrastructure.”

According to the company, community outreach efforts are already underway. The outreach is expected to include a series of public information meetings with local parishes, government agencies, and other project stakeholders from September through December 2026.

Details on the proposed data center's capacity, development timeline, and potential data center partners were not disclosed.

Based in Florida, One Nuclear develops large-scale natural gas plants and advanced small modular reactor technology. The company has three active development sites, located in Texas, New Mexico, and Washington. Its business model is to deploy on-site natural gas generation to anchor its sites, followed by a phased transition to SMRs once they are commercialized.

The company is not an SMR developer; instead, it acts as an energy platform that builds the infrastructure and then sources SMRs from a third party to deploy at its campuses.

Louisiana is fast becoming a hotbed of data center development, with several large-scale campuses slated for the Pelican State. Major planned developments include an up to 5GW campus in Richland Parish, being developed by Meta, and several campuses being developed by Amazon.