Meta $META announced Monday that it is expanding its Hyperion data center in Richland Parish, Louisiana, to 5 gigawatts of compute capacity at a cost of more than $50 billion, up from a prior price tag of $27 billion and an original design capacity of 2 gigawatts.
The expanded project, which Meta describes as one of the largest AI infrastructure investments in the world, will also include more than $1 billion in local infrastructure improvements covering roads, water, and wastewater systems, the company said. Since breaking ground in December 2024, local Louisiana businesses have received more than $1.6 billion in contracts from Meta.
Superclusters like Hyperion differ from conventional data centers by concentrating graphics processing units and specialized hardware designed specifically for AI workloads, according to CNBC. A Meta spokesperson said that the project should reach 2 gigawatts by 2030, though no timeline exists for when the full 5-gigawatt buildout will be complete.
Among the project's financial backers is Blue Owl Capital, a private-credit manager holding a significant ownership position, with BlackRock $BLK also counted among investors, The Wall Street Journal has reported. Meta did not announce a financial partner for the expansion portion of the project.
"From the beginning, this project has always been about more than building infrastructure — it's about building alongside the community," Rachel Peterson, Meta's vice president of data centers, said in a statement.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry held a press event in Baton Rouge on Monday tied to the announcement. A 20-year sales tax exemption covering data centers that break ground before 2029 — legislation Landry enacted in late 2024 — was central to Louisiana's strategy for luring Meta, according to CNBC.
As part of the project's energy arrangements, Meta agreed to finance power generation and transmission projects with Entergy $ETR Louisiana, including seven combined-cycle natural gas plants, grid-scale battery storage at three sites, and roughly 240 miles of high-voltage transmission infrastructure. Entergy estimated the deals would produce about $2.65 billion in combined benefits for its customer base. Meta said it pays the full costs of energy, water, and related infrastructure, so those expenses are not passed to consumers.
Meta also said it is donating $5 million to Louisiana Delta Community College to fund scholarships training local residents for data center jobs, and that all graduates from Richland Parish high schools beginning with the class of 2026 will be eligible for full scholarships for data center-related trade certificates or courses.