meta richland parish ai data center (hyperion campus)
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meta richland parish ai data center (hyperion campus)
One of Louisiana’s largest private capital investments. Project will create 500+ direct jobs with average salaries at least 150% of state per capita average, 1,000+ indirect jobs, and 5,000 construction workers at peak. Meta investing $200+ million in local infrastructure improvements (roads, water systems). State provided 20-year sales tax exemption via Act 730 (HB 827) passed June 2024. Site will use roughly twice as much electricity as New Orleans on a peak day. Will train future open-source large language models (Llama).
| Investment | $10.0B |
| Power Capacity | 2.0 GW |
| Location | Rayville/Delhi, Richland Parish, Louisiana |
| Status | Under Construction |
project overview
One of Louisiana’s largest private capital investments. Project will create 500+ direct jobs with average salaries at least 150% of state per capita average, 1,000+ indirect jobs, and 5,000 construction workers at peak. Meta investing $200+ million in local infrastructure improvements (roads, water systems). State provided 20-year sales tax exemption via Act 730 (HB 827) passed June 2024. Site will use roughly twice as much electricity as New Orleans on a peak day. Will train future open-source large language models (Llama).
location and scale
| Location | Rayville/Delhi, Richland Parish, Louisiana |
| Region | Northeast Louisiana |
| Status | Under Construction |
| Total Investment | $10.0B |
| Power Capacity | 2.0 GW |
| Total Area | 4.0M sq ft |
key stakeholders
| Sponsors | Meta Platforms, Inc. |
| Operators | Meta Platforms, Inc. |
investment breakdown
The $10.0 billion investment is distributed across multiple components:
| Component | Amount | Percentage |
| IT Equipment (GPUs, servers, networking) | $6.5B | 65% |
| Building and Construction | $2.0B | 20% |
| Power Infrastructure | $1.0B | 10% |
| Other (cooling, security, land) | $500M | 5% |
equipment refresh cycles
IT equipment typically requires replacement every 3-5 years, meaning:
- Initial deployment: $6.5B
- 3-year refresh: Additional $5.2B estimated
- Total over 10 years: $16.2B in equipment
infrastructure requirements
power capacity
The facility requires 2.0 GW of power capacity:
| Total Power Capacity | 2.0 GW |
| Equivalent Homes Powered | 1,666,666 |
| Annual Energy Consumption | 17,520 GWh/year |
| Renewable Energy | Yes - committed to renewable sources |
facility specifications
| Total Area | 4.0M sq ft |
| Raised Floor Space | 2.8M sq ft (estimated) |
| Power Density | 714 W/sq ft |
sustainability and cooling
| Cooling Technology | Air cooling systems |
| Renewable Energy | Yes - renewable energy integration |
Meta pledges to match electricity use with 100% clean and renewable energy. Working with Entergy to bring at least 1,500 MW of new renewable energy to the grid. Committed to water stewardship and restoring more water than consumed. Entergy will construct three combined-cycle combustion turbines (2,260MW capacity), two substations, six customer-owned substations, 100 miles of 500kV transmission lines, and eight new 230kV transmission lines. Exploring nuclear power as part of long-term energy strategy.
construction timeline
| Announced | 2024-12 |
| Construction Start | 2024-12 |
| Expected Completion | 2030 |
development phases
| Phase | Description | Completion |
| Phase 1 | Initial site work and infrastructure development | 2025 |
| Phase 2 | Full campus build-out with 11 buildings | 2030 |
economic impact analysis
job creation
| Peak Construction Jobs | 20,000 |
| Permanent Operations Jobs | 400 |
| Average Salary (estimated) | 120,000 |
economic multiplier effects
The project’s total economic impact extends beyond direct investment:
| Direct Investment | $10.0B |
| Total Economic Impact (2.5x multiplier) | $25.0B |
| Estimated Annual Tax Revenue | $50M |
| 30-Year Tax Revenue | $1.5B |
regional benefits
The project brings significant benefits to Louisiana:
- Supply chain development: Local suppliers for construction materials, equipment, and services
- Infrastructure investment: Improved power grid, roads, and telecommunications
- Technology ecosystem: Attracts related tech companies and talent
- Educational partnerships: Training programs and university collaborations
- Real estate development: Increased commercial and residential development
technical specifications
workload types
| Workload Type | Description |
| HYPERSCALE | Large-scale cloud computing and storage |
| AI-ML | Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning training and inference |
ai/ml capabilities
This facility is specifically designed for AI/ML workloads with:
- High-density GPU computing: NVIDIA H100, H200, or GB200 GPUs
- Advanced cooling: Direct-to-chip liquid cooling for high power densities
- High-speed networking: 400G/800G Ethernet or InfiniBious InfiniBand
- Massive storage: Multi-exabyte storage capacity for training data
- Low-latency architecture: Optimized for distributed training workloads
rack density and power
| Rack Power Density | 30-100+ kW per rack (AI-optimized) |
| Cooling Technology | Direct liquid cooling (DLC) / Immersion cooling |
| PUE Target | 1.1 - 1.3 (industry leading) |
strategic importance
competitive positioning
This mega-project represents a strategic investment by Meta Platforms, Inc. to:
- AI Leadership: Establish dominance in AI infrastructure and capabilities
- Compute Capacity: Scale compute resources for next-generation AI models
- Competitive Response: Match or exceed competitor AI infrastructure investments
- Cloud Expansion: Grow public cloud market share and regional presence
- Customer Proximity: Reduce latency for regional enterprise customers
- Service Diversity: Enable new services requiring massive compute resources
national infrastructure significance
As a mega-project (>$10B investment), this facility:
- Represents a major commitment to US technology infrastructure
- Contributes to national AI competitiveness and security
- Demonstrates Louisiana’s emergence as a datacenter hub
- Sets new standards for scale and efficiency in datacenter design
regional integration
Louisiana datacenter ecosystem
This project integrates into Louisiana’s growing datacenter infrastructure:
- Power grid integration: Connection to regional transmission infrastructure
- Fiber connectivity: Access to major internet backbone routes
- Skilled workforce: Leverage regional technical talent and training programs
- Supply chain: Integration with local construction and equipment suppliers
community relations
Large-scale datacenter projects require strong community partnerships:
- Local hiring commitments: Priority hiring for construction and operations roles
- Educational partnerships: STEM programs and technical training initiatives
- Infrastructure improvements: Road, water, and utility infrastructure upgrades
- Tax revenue sharing: Property tax and incentive agreements with local governments
Richland Parish impact
The project specifically impacts Richland Parish through:
- Direct property tax revenue and economic development incentives
- Increased demand for housing, retail, and professional services
- Enhanced infrastructure that benefits broader community
- Recognition as a technology and innovation center
stakeholder analysis
project sponsors
Meta Platforms, Inc.
The sponsoring organizations bring complementary capabilities:
- Meta Platforms, Inc.: Social networking and AI research
operators and tenants
Primary Operators: Meta Platforms, Inc.
The operators manage day-to-day facility operations including power, cooling, security, and network management.
sources and references
- Meta Selects Northeast Louisiana as Site of $10 Billion Artificial Intelligence Optimized Data Center - Louisiana Economic Development (2024-12) - https://www.opportunitylouisiana.gov/news/meta-selects-northeast-louisiana-as-site-of-10-billion-artificial-intelligence-optimized-data-center-governor-jeff-landry-calls-investment-a-new-chapter-for-state
- The largest Meta data center yet brings big impact to Louisiana - Meta Data Centers (2024) - https://datacenters.atmeta.com/richland-parish-data-center/
- Meta announces 4 million sq ft, 2GW Louisiana data center campus - Data Center Dynamics (2024-12) - https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/meta-announces-4-million-sq-ft-louisiana-data-center-campus/
- To land Meta’s massive $10 billion data center, Louisiana pulled out all the stops - CNBC (2025-06-25) - https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/25/meta-massive-data-center-louisiana-cost-jobs-energy-use.html
- Meta Sees $10B AI Data Center in Louisiana Using Combo of Clean Energy, Nuclear Power - Data Center Frontier (2024) - https://www.datacenterfrontier.com/hyperscale/article/55248311/meta-sees-10b-ai-data-center-in-louisiana-using-combo-of-clean-energy-nuclear-power
- Louisiana Saturday Night - Meta’s Massive Data Center Development - RBN Energy (2024) - https://rbnenergy.com/louisiana-saturday-night-metas-massive-data-center-development-puts-focus-on-the-bayou-state
related pages
analysis current as of October 2025