JBizNewsMeta expands Louisiana data center in $50B AI push, boosting rural community
Meta is expanding its massive data center project in Richland Parish, Louisiana, to 5 gigawatts of compute capacity, making it one of the largest data centers in history, the company announced Monday.
The expansion pushes Meta’s total investment in the region to more than $50 billion, marking one of the biggest AI infrastructure investments in the world, according to the company.
Once operational, the data center is expected to support more than 1,000 jobs. Meta said Louisiana businesses have already received more than $1.6 billion in contracts from the company since it broke ground on the site in December 2024.
The tech giant also plans to spend more than $1 billion on local infrastructure upgrades, including roads, water and wastewater systems.
Meta said the expansion includes an energy agreement expected to save Entergy Louisiana customers more than $2 billion over 20 years.
The company said it will cover the data center’s energy, water and infrastructure costs.
The project is already reshaping Richland Parish, a rural community of about 20,000 people. Teachers in the parish recently received annual bonuses of more than $50,000, up from $10,000 last year, thanks to increased tax revenue tied to the data center.
“It’s life-altering for our teachers and their families, and it’s transforming our schools,” Richland Parish School District Superintendent Sheldon Jones said in a statement.
Jones said Meta’s investment has also helped the district attract stronger teacher candidates.
Meta is also donating $5 million to Louisiana Delta Community College to create scholarships for residents training for data center jobs.
Beginning with the class of 2026, all Richland Parish high school graduates will be eligible for full scholarships for data center-related trade programs.
The scholarship effort comes after Meta announced in June that it is launching America’s Workforce Academy, a new skilled-trades training program with free tuition and guaranteed jobs for graduates.
FOX Business’ Eric Revell contributed to this report.