Meta Louisiana Data Center
"Louisiana approved up to 10 new gas plants to power one Meta data center, and ratepayers carry the risk if Meta walks."
Richland County, LA
Source: Primary source
Meta Louisiana Data Center is a under construction data center in Richland County, LA, operated by Meta Platforms, Inc.. DataCentersExposed has documented 2,000 MW of reported power capacity and $3.3B in tracked tax abatements at this site.
Reporting by Eric Keller · Updated Oct 12, 2026
Overview
source: linkMeta's "Hyperion" campus in Richland Parish, near Holly Ridge in northeast Louisiana, is the company's largest data center ever. Announced in December 2024 as a $10 billion, 2,250-acre, 4-million-square-foot project, it has since grown into a roughly $27 billion joint venture with Blue Owl Capital, with Mark Zuckerberg describing a cluster covering a meaningful slice of Manhattan. Initial capacity is about 2 gigawatts, scaling toward 5.
The power deal is the scandal. Louisiana regulators approved three new Entergy gas plants (about 2,260 megawatts) in a 4-1 vote in August 2025, with a plan that has since grown toward 7 or more gigawatts across as many as 10 plants. Meta's contract runs 15 years while the plants last 30, and Earthjustice has asked regulators to investigate a financing structure (a new parent called Beignet Investors) that could leave households paying if Meta exits.
On top of that sits roughly $3.3 billion in sales-tax exemptions over 20 years, described by critics as more than seven years of the state police budget. The campus will draw from the Mississippi River Alluvial Aquifer, where an LSU model found withdrawals could drop groundwater more than 65 feet in places.
Operator chain
- Ultimate parentMeta Platforms, Inc.
- Files asMeta Platforms, Inc.
- This facilityMeta Louisiana Data Center
The grid behind this site, right now
source: MISO · gridstatus- Natural Gas34.4%
- Coal32.8%
- Solar15.4%
- Nuclear10.2%
- Wind4.1%
- Other2.2%
- Imports0.9%
Real-time generation mix for the MISO grid this site draws from, as of Aug 17, 2026, 8:05 PM. ISO-wide, not this facility's own metering. Source: gridstatus.
Grid & water — why here
source: HIFLD · EPAThe closest existing grid infrastructure and the municipal water system this location sits in — the same constraints the buildout model screens on (it won't site a campus more than ~2 km from a substation or ~5 km from municipal water). Distances are straight-line to public HIFLD/EPA features, not a metered connection.
In the news
source: Google News- Meta announced as partner in 2,000-acre controversial Maysville data centerWCPO 9 Cincinnati· Oct 13, 2026
- Meta exec blows the OCP audiences’ mind with its data center innovationsFierce Network· Oct 13, 2026
- META: Accelerating AI And Data Center Investments Will Drive Long-Term Market LeadershipSimply Wall Street· Oct 9, 2026
- Meta Platforms' $27.3B AI Data Center Bond Drops Amid Macro PresGuruFocus· Oct 7, 2026
- Inside Wall Street's $27B financing of Meta's Hyperion AI data centerTradingView· Oct 7, 2026
- Can Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) Justify Its Giant AI Data Center Push?Kalkine Media· Oct 7, 2026
Tax breaks & subsidies
source: Good Jobs First / GASB 77- Louisiana data center sales/use tax exemptionTax break$3,300,000,000Louisiana · granted 2024 · term 20 yr · source
Water use
No public record of this facility's water use. We check state withdrawal reporting for self-supplied sites; municipally supplied sites only become visible through a public-records request to the local water utility — a per-facility request tool is coming. If you have a utility document for this site, send it to us.
EPA permits & violations
source: EPA ECHONo reported violations as of last sync.
Nearest school
source: HIFLD / NCESThe nearest public school, Rayville Junior High School in Rayville, is 3.1 mi from this site (153 students).
Schools are sensitive receptors for the noise, backup-generator exhaust, and traffic a large data center brings. Straight-line distance to the nearest public school (HIFLD/NCES, US public schools only).
Hearings timeline
No public-hearing records linked to this site yet. We surface planning-commission and board-of-supervisors dates when a record names a facility. If you know of a hearing on this site, tell us.