Meta announced expansion of its Louisiana AI data center facility to 5 gigawatts of power capacity.
Meta announced plans to expand its Hyperion AI data center campus in Louisiana to five gigawatts, with the company and state officials presenting the proposal in Baton Rouge on July 13. The expansion represents a planned investment exceeding $50 billion and would grow the facility from its current two-gigawatt capacity.
Reaching five gigawatts requires a comprehensive power infrastructure buildout encompassing generation, transmission, storage, nuclear upgrades, and renewable resources. Meta has committed to covering the data center's infrastructure costs rather than passing them to consumers. The company expects Hyperion to reach two gigawatts by 2030, though it has not provided timelines for completing the full expansion.
The power supply package includes seven combined-cycle power plants totaling more than 5,200 megawatts—slightly exceeding the ultimate computing target because generation and computing capacity measure different aspects of the system. Approximately 240 miles of 500-kilovolt transmission lines would deliver this power to Richland Parish. The project adds battery storage at three sites, increased capacity from existing nuclear plants through uprating their licensed output, and support for up to 2,500 megawatts of renewable resources. Any delays in generation, transmission, or storage systems could restrict server deployment even if campus buildings are completed.
Louisiana's Public Service Commission is processing the project through the Lightning Speed Amendment, a regulatory pathway for large economic-development power initiatives. While commission approval enables construction, utilities must still build and connect the equipment. Meta has partnered with Entergy on the energy agreement, which the utility estimates could produce approximately $2 billion in customer savings over 20 years, with an estimated $2.65 billion in combined benefits from both the new and earlier agreements.
Meta's local investment package includes $1.6 billion in contracts and over $1 billion in infrastructure support for in-state businesses, roads, water systems, and wastewater improvements. The company established a $5 million college program to fund trade scholarships and courses for Richland Parish high school graduates. Once fully operational in 2036, the project could support approximately 7,500 construction jobs and 1,000 permanent jobs, with some estimates suggesting capacity for more than 1,000 permanent positions.
Louisiana offers property-tax reductions conditioned on job creation: a 60% reduction if Meta creates 300 permanent jobs averaging $93,000 annually by 2032, rising to 80% at 500 jobs. Second-phase spending qualifies for state and local sales-tax exemptions on many data center costs. Hyperion's reported $27 billion baseline stems from the joint venture between Meta and Blue Owl Capital. Meta's next verifiable milestone is publishing a complete timetable for the five-gigawatt buildout.