Exclusive news, data and analytics for financial market professionalsLearn more aboutRefinitiv
Item 2 of 2 People walk behind a logo of Meta Platforms company, during a conference in Mumbai, India, September 20, 2023. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas
[2/2] People walk behind a logo of Meta Platforms company, during a conference in Mumbai, India, September 20, 2023. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
-
Companies
Follow
July 13 (Reuters) - Meta (META.O), opens new tab 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.
The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here.
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
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
-
X
-
Facebook
-
Linkedin
-
Email
-
Link
Read Next
- 50 mins agoLitigationcategory
Thomson Reuters to cut 'small number' of engineering jobs
- 6 hours ago
India's HCLTech results beat on financial services boost; enters data center business
- 4 hours agoBusinesscategory
Intel announces $5.7 billion AI-driven capital investment in Ireland
- 8 hours agoBusinesscategory
Nobel laureates among more than 200 experts urging action on AI's economic impact
- 4 hours agoLegalcategory
White House to rally utilities, data centers for AI power cost pledge, sources say
Business
Jack Daniel's maker Brown-Forman CEO Lawson Whiting to retire
Businesscategory · July 13, 2026 · 4:21 PM EDT · 41 mins ago
Brown-Forman said on Monday that CEO and President Lawson Whiting has decided to retire.
Businesscategory Lawsuit accuses BlackRock of overcharging mutual fund investors
4:11 PM EDT
Litigationcategory Thomson Reuters to cut 'small number' of engineering jobs
4:11 PM EDT
category SBI Funds IPO anchor book attracts Singapore, Abu Dhabi wealth funds
3:37 PM EDT
category Spire Healthcare chair could step down within months, Sky News reports
3:20 PM EDT
Read Original at Reuters →