Meta adds $40B to Louisiana data center build

Meta says it will spend an additional $40 billion on its nearly 4,000-acre Hyperion data center campus in Richland Parish, Louisiana, taking total disclosed investment to more than $250 billion.

That total combines Bloomberg’s report in May that $200 billion had been allocated to the project, the newly announced $40 billion, and a previously announced $10 billion for the data center and surrounding community.

Meta says the site will eventually require 5 gigawatts of computing power, plus another 2 gigawatts for broader campus needs. At full buildout, that would put total power demand at more than three times the electricity used by the city of New Orleans.

In a company blog post, Meta highlighted local benefits tied to the project, including $50,000 bonuses for teachers funded by higher tax revenues, $1.6 billion in contracts for local businesses, and support for public schools and youth programs through its Data Center Community Action Grants initiative.

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“It’s life-altering for our teachers and their families, and it’s transforming our schools. Meta’s investment has made Richland Parish a destination for education as well as industry,”

Meta also says the campus will support 1,000 jobs once completed, and that another $1 billion is set aside for roads, water, and wastewater infrastructure.

Power use and local opposition

The project has also drawn sustained criticism, especially over how such a large facility will be powered. Entergy Louisiana is spending billions to build 10 new gas-fired power plants to supply the site.

TechRadar cites opposition from environmental and consumer groups, which argue the project could shift electricity and grid-upgrade costs onto other customers. The Union of Concerned Scientists and the Alliance for Affordable Energy have both criticized Hyperion’s scale and power demands.

A Floodlight investigation published by The Guardian said approval of the project hinged heavily on Louisiana state senator John “Jay” Morris. According to the report, Morris and his partners handled many of the land purchases and sales needed for Entergy’s planned gas turbine plant.

Morris denied wrongdoing.

“It makes a nice story if you can try to show that I have some sort of conflict. But under Louisiana’s ethics laws, I don’t,”

The article also notes concerns that Entergy ratepayers could be left covering the cost of a $550 million transmission line needed because of Hyperion, along with fuel costs for the new gas turbine plant.