WEST FELICIANA — As the controversy surrounding data centers continues to grow across the country, progress on the Hut 8 facility in West Feliciana is getting closer to completion.

Monday, Hut 8 hosted state and local officials to see the progress on the construction of the facility.

Governor Jeff Landry says because of projects like this, he's never been more excited about the future of the state.

"What we're doing today is not just breaking ground on a new project; we're literally breaking ground on Louisiana's future. We're also breaking ground on America's future," Landry said.

However, groups such as the Louisiana Bucket Brigade worry that these projects hold empty promises.

"We have the current Governor running around the state pitching data centers, pitching carbon capture, talking about artificial intelligence, as if big business and outside corporations are actually good for our economy. If they were, Louisiana would be one of the richest states in the whole country because we've heard this nonsense before," LBB Director Ann Rolfes said.

HUT 8 officials told attendees of the event that it was laughed at when it said that Louisiana could be a great data center market.

"These digital factories are the invisible infrastructure of what happens in your hand. They are the heartbeat of a modern economy," Landry said.

While WBRZ has provided coverage on Hut 8, such as its job fair in West Feliciana Parish and Parish President Kenny Havard addressing concerns with residents, critics question why the state hasn't been more public about the Hut 8 project. That is compared to reaction to the Meta Data Center and SpaceX facility, despite Hut 8 being closer to completion.

"It's just the latest in a long line of bad ideas and what we need is a moratorium on all of this," Rolfes said.

Governor Landry says that economic leaders can't let fear stop the state from attracting more business.

"Each time America faced a change, we had a choice: we could let fear hold us back, or we could set rules and let progress flourish, and that is what we want here with Hut 8," Landry said.

Also at the site with political leaders was businessman Donald Trump Jr. He told WBRZ that America must lead in the data center race, calling it the next space race.

"I think it's a civilization issue. If you lose the data center race, and ultimately the AI race, you get to a point because of the exponential growth in how this works, where you can't come back," Trump Jr. said.

Trump Jr. was also asked his opinion on why he thinks Hut 8 has received less attention from the state government.

"I think the reason's pretty natural, I mean SpaceX is sending people to space. It's a little more exciting from that perspective. Obviously, Meta has got a bigger name, but I think with what they're doing here and working with some of the big off-takers that are going to be using it, I think it's going to be an incredible project," Trump Jr. said.

Hut 8 officials say about 1200 construction employees currently work this site day and night, with a majority of them being filled by local workers. Hut 8 expects 200 permanent positions once the facility is up and running.

"So we looked really across the United States when it comes to prospective development. There isn't really an area we don't look at. I think Louisiana had everything we were looking for," Hut 8 Senior Director of Public Affairs Hailey Miller said.

Hut 8 also tells WBRZ that it prides itself on operating differently from past data centers, having a location that is further away from residents and a water system they say isn't detrimental to residents.

"I think a lot of data centers have moved towards a closed-loop system and that really ensures to minimize any impact on local resources, so water is trucked in from off-site and it's filled within the system, and it recirculates continuously so that there's no need to draw in local resources," Miller said.

Hut 8 says it is on schedule and is expected to finish construction in 2027.