How a solar project gets permitted in Louisiana
A utility-scale solar project in Louisiana doesn't get one permit. It runs a federal, state, and local gauntlet — and waits years in the grid queue besides.
Investigations
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News
Comment on the Sunstripe Solar permit before the August 2 deadline
The only public comment window on the 10,356-acre Sunstripe Solar project closes August 2, 2026. Here's the permit number, the address, and how to weigh in.
England Airpark to require protest permits — though no incident prompted it, director says
The England Authority's director says no incident prompted its proposed permit rules for protests at the airport — the nation's top deportation-flight hub. A sheriff's office request did; the text posts Wednesday, with a vote in August.
The 10,356-acre solar project quietly taking shape near Hineston
Treaty Oak Clean Energy — owned by funds tied to Cleco's co-owner, which also bankrolls a local data center — wants federal approval for a 16-sq-mi solar buildout on Rapides/Vernon timberland. No public announcement. The only comment window closes Aug. 2.
Explainers
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How to comment on a federal permit (and why it actually works)
You don't need a lawyer to comment on a federal permit — and the agency is legally required to consider what you send. Here's how to write one that counts.
How to read a public notice
The most consequential documents in government are written to be skipped: dense, gray, and buried where almost no one looks. But every one of them starts a clock. Here's how to read a public notice like a reporter.
What is a PILOT? The tax deal you've never voted on
Sometimes a billion-dollar facility never shows up on the tax rolls at all — because on paper, a public board owns it. Instead of a tax bill, the company writes negotiated checks. That's a PILOT, and central Louisiana is about to hear the term a lot.
What is ITEP? Louisiana's biggest tax break, explained
A state board in Baton Rouge can excuse a factory, or any business, from most of its local property taxes for a decade. The money never touches the state budget. It comes out of your parish, your schools, and your sheriff's office.
How Louisiana's public records law works
Louisiana's Public Records Law gives any person of the age of majority the right to inspect and copy the records of state and local government, backed by the state constitution.
What is the Rapides Parish Police Jury?
The Rapides Parish Police Jury is a nine-member elected board that serves as both the legislative and executive branches of government for Rapides Parish. It runs parish roads, drainage, and fire districts, but duties handled by other elected or appointed boards.
About Us
The Deduct Box
Huey kept a locked strongbox at the Roosevelt Hotel, filled with a cut of other people's paychecks. We keep one too. Ours is filled with something the people in power owe you: information.
How to read The Kingfish Project
The Kingfish Project publishes six kinds of pages — Investigations, Records, Meetings, Explainers, Briefs, and Documents — built on one rule: every claim links to a document you can check yourself.
We are Kingfish
An introduction to The Kingfish Project — and an argument that the most expensive thing Louisiana owns is its secrets.
