Meta Platforms has reached an agreement with Entergy Louisiana to finance new energy infrastructure to support its planned $27 billion data center in Richland Parish, a project the company says could scale up to 5 GW, making it its largest facility to date. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has described the site as large enough to cover a significant portion of Manhattan.
Under the deal, Meta will finance seven new natural gas-fired power plants totaling more than 5.2 GW, along with approximately 240 miles of 500 kV transmission lines and battery storage at multiple locations, according to Entergy. The company also pledged to help finance up to 2.5 GW of new renewable resources and signed a memorandum of understanding to explore future nuclear development.
The seven new gas units still need approval from the Louisiana Public Service Commission.
Meta has selected a joint team of Turner Construction, DPR Construction and Mortenson to build the 4 million square foot Hyperion data center campus in the parish. According to DPR, the project includes a multi-building program that includes a network data center, four support structures and extensive modular electrical and mechanical systems, with peak on-site employment expected to exceed 5,000 workers. Meta says early work is underway on the campus, and the project will also require major upgrades to local infrastructure, including road, water and utility improvements.
Including three gas plants previously approved by state regulators and already under construction, the project would eventually draw power from 10 gas units with a combined capacity of 7.5 GW, an increase equivalent to more than 30 percent of Louisiana’s current grid, Fortune reported. Entergy said the deal is structured so that Meta pays its full cost of service and will deliver about $2 billion in savings to customers over 20 years, on top of the previously announced $650 million in benefits.
Still, the Wall Street Journal reported that the project has raised concerns about financial risk to Louisiana electricity customers if demand for Meta’s long-term power falls. Those concerns reflect a broader national debate, as the rapid growth of data centers has strained networks and helped drive up electricity costs. In response, major tech companies including Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Meta, Oracle, OpenAI and xAI pledged at a White House event earlier this month to fund their data center energy needs and invest in local network upgrades. Analysts told the Journal that the commitments lacked details and enforcement mechanisms, raising questions about how quickly they would ease local pressures.
On the same day last year that Louisiana regulators approved the original energy plan, Meta reached a deal with Blue Owl Capital that gave the private equity firm majority ownership of the Hyperion facility and made the tech company a tenant with an option to exit its lease every four years. Fortune noted that the 10 gas units have 15-year contracts but have operational lives of up to 40 years, which could leave taxpayers responsible for remaining costs if demand for Meta falls after the contracts expire.
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