The Richland Parish project is expected to become one of the world’s largest artificial intelligence data centers, creating more than 1,000 permanent jobs while driving new investment in schools, infrastructure and local businesses.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
BATON ROUGE, La. — Meta announced Monday that it is dramatically expanding its artificial intelligence data center campus in northeast Louisiana, increasing the project to 5 gigawatts of computing capacity and bringing the company’s total planned investment in the state to more than $50 billion.
The development in Richland Parish, a rural community of approximately 20,000 residents in Louisiana’s Delta region, is expected to become one of the largest data centers ever constructed.
Meta unveiled the expansion alongside Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry in Baton Rouge, describing the project as a central component of the company’s effort to build the computing infrastructure required for advanced artificial intelligence.
Once operational, the campus is expected to support more than 1,000 permanent jobs while producing significant economic effects across Richland Parish and the surrounding region.
The announcement comes as Meta accelerates one of the technology industry’s largest AI infrastructure campaigns.
Under the leadership of Meta President Dina Powell, who has overseen the company’s AI expansion strategy, Meta has committed tens of billions of dollars to increase the computing power needed for sophisticated AI models, generative AI products and future artificial intelligence services across its platforms.
The Richland Parish campus has emerged as a centerpiece of that effort and an example of how massive technology investments are increasingly moving beyond established centers such as Silicon Valley and into rural communities.
Construction began in December 2024, and Meta said the project has already delivered substantial benefits to Louisiana businesses and residents.
Companies based in the state have received more than $1.6 billion in contracts connected to the development.
Meta also plans to invest another $1 billion in local infrastructure, including roads, water systems, wastewater facilities and other community improvements needed to support the project and surrounding population.
The development has produced particularly visible financial benefits for Richland Parish schools.
Higher tax revenues associated with the project allowed local teachers to receive annual bonuses exceeding $50,000, approximately four times larger than the bonuses paid the previous year.
“Last year, our teachers received a $10,000 bonus; this year, that check was over $50,000,” Richland Parish Superintendent Sheldon Jones said.
“It’s life-altering for our teachers and their families, and it’s transforming our schools,” he added.
Meta has also provided direct funding to every public school in the parish through donations and its Data Center Community Action Grants program.
The company is donating $5 million to Louisiana Delta Community College to establish scholarships and training opportunities for future data center workers.
Beginning with the graduating class of 2026, every Richland Parish high school graduate will be eligible for a full scholarship covering any data center-related trade certificate or technical program.
The initiative is intended to build a local workforce capable of filling long-term technical and operational positions created by the campus.
The project’s economic effects have extended beyond major contractors and public institutions to small local businesses.
Tim and Lindsey Allen said they opened their restaurant, Holy Tacos, after Meta announced plans for the development.
Coffee shop owners TJ and Kaycie Weed said their business expanded from one location serving approximately 40 customers per day to three locations, with a fourth scheduled to open in the fall.
Meta said the project will also generate substantial savings for utility customers through a new energy agreement with Entergy Louisiana.
The company estimates that the arrangement will save Entergy customers more than $2 billion over the next 20 years.
Those projected savings are in addition to approximately $650 million expected under a previous agreement.
Meta said it will pay the full costs of the electricity, water and related infrastructure required by the data center, preventing those expenses from being transferred to other utility customers.
The 5-gigawatt capacity planned for the campus reflects the extraordinary scale of energy and computing resources now required to develop and operate increasingly advanced AI systems.
Technology companies are investing heavily in data centers, energy supplies, specialized processors and cooling infrastructure as they compete to build more powerful AI models and integrate artificial intelligence into consumer and business services.
Meta’s Louisiana expansion demonstrates how that competition is reshaping communities far beyond traditional technology hubs.
For Richland Parish, the project is bringing billions of dollars in contracts and infrastructure spending, new permanent employment, expanded workforce training and sharply higher education funding.
For Meta, the campus will provide a major portion of the computing capacity needed to support the company’s next generation of artificial intelligence products and services.
The expansion places Louisiana at the center of the intensifying global race to construct the physical infrastructure behind artificial intelligence while illustrating the potentially transformative local effects of large-scale data center development.
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