On July 13, 2026, Meta announced it would expand the data center under construction in Richland Parish, Louisiana, into a project exceeding $50 billion in investment and 5GW of IT capacity. The buildings will span nearly 10 million square feet and house the company's largest AI training cluster, Hyperion. This represents a dramatic scale-up from the $10 billion, 4-million-square-foot plan the company originally announced in December 2024—achieved in less than two years.
However, the power supply needed to run 5GW of computing equipment is not yet in place. Seven additional gas-fired power plants requested by utility Entergy Louisiana remain under regulatory review, and Meta's announced figure includes no breakdown of costs or spending timeline. To understand the $50 billion figure, one must separate the buildings and servers from the outside capital and long-term leases involved, as well as the statewide power generation and transmission investments.
From $10 Billion to Over $50 Billion, Floor Space 2.5x Larger
The initial plan announced by Louisiana Economic Development in December 2024 called for a $10 billion investment to build a 4-million-square-foot campus, creating more than 500 permanent jobs. Construction employment was expected to peak at 5,000 workers, with the project running through 2030.
In the latest announcement, the investment figure has grown to over $50 billion, and the floor space to nearly 10 million square feet—roughly a 2.5x increase in area and more than 5x in investment. Peak construction employment has been raised to 7,500 workers, and post-launch employment to about 1,000. The growth in permanent jobs is far more modest than the growth in investment, reflecting the capital-intensive nature of data center facilities.
The construction is already moving the local economy. According to Meta, contracts with Louisiana-based companies have exceeded $1.6 billion since groundbreaking in December 2024. Spending on local infrastructure—roads, water supply, sewage treatment, and more—is expected to grow to over $1 billion as well. As of December 2025, the company had reported $875 million in in-state contracts and over $300 million in local infrastructure spending, meaning both figures have grown substantially in just over six months.
Meanwhile, the completion timeline has become less clear. The July announcement does not specify a completion date for the expanded project. Entergy has stated that construction jobs tied to the associated power generation and transmission work will span from 2026 to 2031, suggesting that at least the surrounding infrastructure buildout may extend beyond the original 2030 target.
The $50 Billion Is Not Meta's Single-Year Spending
The over-$50-billion figure Meta disclosed represents the investment plan for the Richland Parish project. The announcement does not break down how much is allocated to buildings versus IT equipment such as servers, or to power and cooling infrastructure. It is neither money already spent nor a plan to pay the full amount in cash during 2026.
A clue to the financing structure comes from the joint venture Meta established with funds managed by Blue Owl Capital in October 2025. Under this arrangement, the development cost for the Hyperion building and the long-lived power, cooling, and connectivity infrastructure is estimated at approximately $27 billion, with Blue Owl holding an 80% stake and Meta holding 20%. Once complete, Meta will lease the entire campus back from the joint venture. The initial lease term is four years, with extension options and a residual value guarantee covering 16 years from the start of operations.
Therefore, one cannot simply add the $27 billion and $50 billion to arrive at a combined total of $77 billion. The former represents the development cost for the building and long-lived infrastructure handled by the joint venture, while the latter is the investment plan for the expanded project as a whole—the two figures likely overlap in scope. Meta is combining the joint venture structure with leasing arrangements to shift some of the construction financing burden for its computing infrastructure onto outside investors.
At the company-wide level, Meta projects total 2026 capital expenditures of $125–145 billion, a figure that includes principal repayments on finance leases. The $50 billion figure for Louisiana represents a multi-year project total, differing from the single-year capital expenditure outlook in both time horizon and accounting treatment.
Ten Gas Power Plants to Support 5GW of Computing Equipment
Hyperion's power plan unfolds in two phases. In August 2025, the Louisiana Public Service Commission (LPSC) approved three combined-cycle gas-fired power plants corresponding to Meta's original plan. These total 2,260MW in output, with the two units in Richland Parish expected online by late 2028 and the one to be built at the existing Waterford site by the end of 2029.
Following the expansion to 5GW, Entergy filed for a second phase in March 2026, adding seven more gas-fired units totaling over 5,200MW. Combined across both phases, the new gas-fired capacity reaches ten units and approximately 7.5GW of output. The plan also includes roughly 240 miles of 500kV transmission lines, three battery storage facilities, and output upgrades at existing nuclear plants. Meta has also indicated it will support up to 2,500MW of solar power generation.
Here it's important not to conflate the 5GW and 7.5GW figures as equivalent. Meta's 5GW refers to the IT capacity used by servers and related equipment, while the 7.5GW represents the combined gas-fired generation capacity across the first and second phases. Entergy explains that this capacity accounts for both Meta's projected demand and the reserve margin needed to maintain grid reliability. Since the data center's peak demand is not disclosed in public filings, the actual power consumption after completion cannot yet be calculated.
Can Cost Shifting Be Prevented? Regulatory Review in December
Entergy estimates that the second-phase contract will save existing customers roughly $2 billion over 20 years. Combined with the $650 million projected under the first phase, total benefits would reach $2.65 billion. The underlying logic is that revenue from Meta's electricity purchases would offset grid fixed costs and disaster recovery-related expenses, reducing the burden on general customers.
The contract also includes mechanisms designed to prevent cost shifting. According to the public version of the filing, the power supply agreement has an initial term of 20 years, automatically renewing in five-year increments thereafter. Non-renewal requires three years' advance notice. Minimum monthly charges are tied to recovery of the capacity addition costs, and the arrangement requires a guarantee from Meta's parent company plus additional credit support. In the event of early termination, unrecovered costs would be billed to Evest, and Entergy would retain the option to either keep the power plants in service or sell them. Evest is a Meta subsidiary.
That said, key elements such as the minimum charge amounts and guarantee sums are redacted in the public filing. The $2 billion and $650 million figures are Entergy's projections, not confirmed savings. What the LPSC decided on April 15 was merely the review schedule—not approval to build the seven plants. The commission plans to compile an evidentiary record and take up the application at its December 16, 2026 meeting.
Measuring Jobs, Tax Incentives, and Water Use
Meta is emphasizing its contributions to the local community. It has already placed over $1.6 billion in orders with local businesses and is donating $5 million to Louisiana Delta Community College. For the class of 2026, all graduates of Richland Parish high schools will be eligible for full scholarships to data center-related vocational certificate programs. According to the local superintendent, teachers' annual bonuses—funded by increased tax revenue—have risen from $10,000 the previous year to over $50,000.
The state has also prepared substantial incentives. Under Louisiana law, certified data centers are exempt from state and local sales and use taxes on qualifying equipment and construction/expansion costs for an initial 20-year period. Certification requires at least 50 full-time jobs and a minimum of $200 million in new investment; the state indicated at the time of the 2024 announcement that Meta was expected to qualify for this program. The 1,000 permanent jobs and over $50 billion in investment now promised far exceed these thresholds.
Water use remains a lingering concern. Meta has pledged a restoration program to return water equivalent to 100% of its consumption to the surrounding watershed, but the July announcement does not specify the withdrawal or consumption figures following the roughly 2.5x expansion in floor space. Since watershed restoration is not equivalent to zero withdrawal, this will need to be verified against actual figures disclosed once operations begin.
Whether the $50 billion pledge translates into 5GW of actual computing capacity will be determined by the December power regulatory review, the timing of power plant and transmission line completions, and post-launch power and water consumption data. Sustaining the jobs and tax revenue created in Richland Parish—while ensuring costs are not shifted onto general customers once the construction phase ends—will be the condition for making Hyperion a genuine local success story.