Meta’s Louisiana Data Center Will Be the Biggest—and Most Opaque, Too

Across cotton and soybean fields in Louisiana, Meta is building what it says will be its largest data center, as the company expands its artificial-intelligence infrastructure in Richland Parish.

Meta's expanding Hyperion data center in Richland Parish, Louisiana, is expected to reach 5 gigawatts of IT capacity and become one of the world's largest AI infrastructure campuses. [Photo: Meta]

The project has grown substantially since it was first announced.

Meta's expanded Hyperion data-center campus is expected to have 5 gigawatts of IT capacity and represents an investment of more than $50 billion, according to the company.

The facility is expected to become one of the world's largest AI infrastructure projects.

But while the project has expanded, Louisiana regulators have kept some important details about it confidential.

Earlier this month, the Louisiana Public Service Commission voted 3-1 to allow Meta to keep information about the project's expected job creation and electricity use from public disclosure.

The decision followed a dispute over whether Meta should disclose the information in regulatory proceedings. Commissioner Davante Lewis, the panel's only Democrat, dissented from the decision.

Meta has argued that its employment and energy-use figures are confidential and proprietary.

The secrecy has intensified a broader debate over how much information technology companies and utilities should disclose when negotiating large data-center projects that can affect electricity demand, infrastructure investment and local communities.

Louisiana is among a number of states where data-center incentive agreements and related information can be shielded from public view.

Critics argue that such arrangements can make it difficult for residents and utility customers to assess the costs and benefits of major projects before they are approved.

Meta, however, has said its Louisiana investment is already generating economic benefits.

The company said the project is supporting local businesses and infrastructure, while its latest expansion is expected to create more than 1,000 permanent operational jobs.

It also said local Louisiana businesses have received more than $1.6 billion in contracts since construction began.

Meta also said it will cover the costs of the energy, water and related infrastructure used by the data center and that its energy agreement with Entergy Louisiana is expected to save customers billions of dollars over two decades.

Those claims have become part of the broader debate over whether large data centers will ultimately impose costs on local ratepayers.