Meta expands Louisiana data center to 5 gigawatts, investment crosses $50 billion

July 13 (Reuters) - Meta said ‌on Monday its ​data ​center in Richland Parish, Louisiana, will expand to 5 gigawatts of compute capacity, with investment in the project increasing to ‌more than $50 billion.

The planned data center, known as Hyperion, was earlier ⁠projected to deliver more than 2 gigawatts of compute capacity to support training of ‌large language models, the technology ‌behind tools such as ChatGPT.

Here are some details:

• The announcement comes as environmental and consumer groups increasingly push back against the energy-intensive buildout.

• ​U.S. environmental law group Earthjustice's request to investigate the financing of Meta's Louisiana data center project was denied earlier this year.

• Earthjustice had ⁠said the financing arrangement could ultimately shift project costs unfairly onto utility customers if Meta walks ​away from the project before the utility recovers its investment.

• Last year, U.S. President Donald Trump had said the company's ​data center project would cost $50 billion.

• Since ‌breaking ground in December 2024, local Louisiana businesses have received more than $1.6 billion in contracts from Meta, the company ⁠said.

• With this expansion, the company said it plans to invest over $1 billion in local infrastructure improvements, including roads, water and wastewater systems.

• Meta also said ⁠teachers in Richland Parish recently received annual bonuses of up to $50,000, a 400% increase from ​the previous year, thanks to increased tax revenues from the company's data center project.

• Meta, like its Big Tech peers, has been pouring billions of dollars into AI ‌data centers and computing power, as demand continues to outstrip supply.

• The company has pledged to invest $600 billion ‌in U.S. infrastructure and jobs over the next three years.

• Meta currently has ⁠32 data centers across the ‌globe in operation or ​under construction, 28 of which are in the United States.

(Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo and ‌Devika Syamnath)

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