Meta is further intensifying the construction of AI infrastructure.

According to reports, Meta announced a significant expansion of its Hyperion data center project located in the Richland Diocese of Louisiana, increasing the total investment from $10 billion announced in 2024 to a maximum of $50 billion, equivalent to an additional investment of $40 billion. This means that the project will become one of the largest AI data centers in the world and make Louisiana an important landing point for Meta AI strategy.

With the rapid expansion of the project scale, Hyperion’s computing power will increase to 5 gigawatts, covering an area of over 3200 acres, and is expected to drive 7500 construction jobs and 1000 long-term employment opportunities. However, the huge energy demand and its impact on local communities have also drawn attention from the outside world to the power grid, electricity prices, and infrastructure carrying capacity.

Increase investment fivefold to build a 5GW ultra large AI data center

The Hyperion project was initially announced in 2024, with a planned investment of $10 billion and a construction area of approximately 4 million square feet. After this round of expansion, the park covers an area of over 3200 acres, which is approximately four times the size of New York’s Central Park. Its computing power has been increased to 5 gigawatts, making it an important project for Meta to layout AI computing infrastructure.

Meta President Dina Powell McCormick stated that this investment is of great significance to the company and Meta hopes to become a significant investor in Louisiana in the long term.

In fact, there have been signs of expansion signals before. Earlier this year, Meta continued to acquire approximately 1400 acres of farmland on the west side of the project; In March of this year, the local utility company Entergy also applied to regulatory agencies to build new natural gas power plants, solar and energy storage facilities, with a total additional power generation capacity of 4.5 gigawatts, to meet the future electricity demand of data centers.

The expansion of AI computing power brings energy pressure

Such a massive data center also means huge energy consumption. Consumer groups are concerned that the construction of new power generation facilities around the Hyperion project may ultimately push up local residential electricity prices.

Meta stated that it will bear the construction cost of 10 new power generation facilities for Entergy, a large energy company in the United States, and provide funding for 2.5 gigawatts of new renewable energy, approximately 240 miles of transmission lines, and battery energy storage systems, hoping to improve the local power grid while meeting its own needs.

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry also expressed his hope that the collaboration model between Meta, the state government, and Entergy can become a model for future large-scale data center projects. In June of this year, the state government has requested the development of new data center development rules to ensure that the construction costs of future related power generation facilities will not be passed on to ordinary residents.

Simultaneous increase in employment, infrastructure, and tax incentives

With the expansion of the project, Hyperion expects that the number of employment opportunities during the construction phase will increase by about 50% from the previous plan, reaching approximately 7500; After full operation, the number of permanent positions will double to 1000, and it is expected to be completed by 2036.

Meta also announced that it will invest approximately $1 billion in upgrading local infrastructure such as roads, water supply, and sewage treatment, and provide over $5 million in support to local educational institutions. This includes donating $5 million to Louisiana Delta Community College for training data center related technical personnel and providing $250000 in funding to vocational training institutions in New Orleans.

Meanwhile, Meta continues to receive significant tax incentives from the state government.

According to the new PILOT (Alternative Tax Agreement), if Meta creates 300 permanent jobs with an annual salary of no less than 150% of the state average (approximately $93000) by 2032, they can receive a 60% local property tax reduction; If the number of positions is increased to 500, the reduction ratio will be further increased to 80%. In addition, servers, cooling systems, power equipment, and construction expenses involved in data center construction can still enjoy a 100% exemption from state and local sales tax.