Meta Platforms expanded its Hyperion data center in Louisiana to 5 gigawatts of capacity at a cost of over $50 billion.
Meta Platforms is expanding its Hyperion data center in Richland Parish, Louisiana, to a total compute capacity of 5 gigawatts. The project, which costs more than $50 billion, represents a more than double increase from the previous $27 billion price tag and an original design capacity of 2 gigawatts. This massive infrastructure project shifts the focus from coastal tech hubs to rural regions with abundant land and favorable tax structures. The facility features a closed-loop thermal architecture to manage heat from high-density graphics processing units, which minimizes water consumption and protects the site from municipal utility rate shocks. The expansion creates a significant economic impact for the land's local community. The administration announced that the project will award over $1.6 billion in initial procurement contracts to Louisiana-based businesses. Once fully operational, the campus will support approximately 1,000 permanent technical roles, ranging from high-voltage electricians to specialized server infrastructure engineers.