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Dive Brief:
- At a crucial time for the data center industry, hyperscaler Meta will now invest over $50 billion in its data center and surrounding areas in Richland Parish, Louisiana, according to a Monday announcement.
- The parent company of Facebook and Instagram said the money represents one of the largest AI infrastructure investments in the world.
- The sum also indicates significant growth. In 2024, Meta announced plans to invest $10 billion in developing the project and contracted builders Turner Construction, DPR Construction and Mortenson to build the facility. Then he went up this figure to 27 billion dollars in Octoberaccording to CNBC.
Diving knowledge:
With the expansion, the new data center facility will reach nearly 10 million square feet and 5 gigawatts of computing capacity, making it the largest in Meta’s global fleet and one of the largest data centers ever builtby Louisiana Economic Development. the project started in December 2024.
Turner and Mortenson are the general contractors for the expansion, while DPR is building the first part of the project, Ashley Settle, Meta’s manager of infrastructure and corporate communications, told Construction Dive via email. Meta worked with the three companies to plan the expansion, he said, which was based “on business needs.”
In Louisiana, Meta will pay all costs for the power, water and related infrastructure that will be used by the data center, according to the company’s announcement. He scored one agreement with utility provider Entergy Louisianaunder which Meta will finance seven new natural gas generating plants, approximately 240 miles of new 500 kV transmission lines, battery energy storage at three locations and other improvements.
The project will support 7,500 construction jobs during the peak construction period, per LED. Louisiana is also one of four pilot locations for a Meta’s $115 million America’s Workforce Academywhich will offer training in specialized trades and job opportunities in data center projects.
“In just two years, we’ve secured more than $150 billion in new investment by creating an environment where companies can move quickly and build at scale,” Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry said in the LED announcement.
The construction of the data center has been the the favorite of the construction industry in 2026which represents the biggest gains in almost every measurable metric. This strength is offset by the rest of the sector, which has struggled to keep pace.
But community backlash against massive construction has also been growing at a rapid pace. Meta’s announcement came a day before New York State Governor Kathy Hochul issued a statewide moratorium. environmental permits for data centers in the Empire State, a first in the U.S. Hochul, who signed the executive order Tuesday, emphasized the strain New Yorkers are feeling on data center utility bills.
