Meta Lifts Cost of Louisiana Data Center to $50 Billion — Update

By Dean Seal

Meta Platforms has scaled up the size of its massive data-center project in Northeast Louisiana to 5 gigawatts of compute capacity and said it would now cost more than $50 billion.

The project in the rural Richland Parish region, originally pegged at a cost of $27 billion, will be the company's largest data center. The latest expansion also makes it one of the largest investments in artificial-intelligence infrastructure in the world, Meta said Monday.

Private-credit manager Blue Owl Capital increase owns a major stake in the project, which has attracted investors including BlackRock, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Meta said it has agreed to pay the costs of energy, water and related infrastructure used by the data center. In March, it reached a deal to with Entergy Louisiana to fund the energy infrastructure of the project.

Already, increased tax revenue linked to the project has translated to annual bonuses of up to around $50,000 for teachers in the local school district. For some teachers, the bonuses may be larger than their salaries.

Officials in the Richland Parish community said the project has brought an influx of economic activity that is breathing new life into the region.

"Meta's investment has made Richland Parish a destination for education as well as industry," Richland Parish School District Superintendent Sheldon Jones said, according to a Meta blog post on Monday.

The project is underway amid growing public opposition to data centers around the U.S. Their effect on affordability has been repeatedly cited in polls and public comments as a concern.

The Wall Street Journal previously reported that the project in Louisiana had raised concerns about burdening Louisiana electricity customers with higher costs.

Write to Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 13, 2026 08:55 ET (12:55 GMT)