Meta is expanding what would have been its largest AI data center at its Louisiana campus, which the company says has brought “life-changing benefits” to local teachers and businesses.
The company, which operates Facebook and Instagram, said in a blog post Monday that the Richland Diocese data center known as Hyperion will expand to 5 gigawatts of computing power, with the project costing more than $50 billion.
The announcement provides a new data point for Wall Street investors who are closely monitoring updates on Meta’s AI spending plans. The company’s capital expenditures have ballooned over the past two years, primarily due to the cost of its AI infrastructure.
As part of the announcement, Mehta touted the project’s impact on the local economy, noting that the increased tax revenue associated with the data center recently led to year-end bonuses of up to $50,000 being paid to teachers in the Richland Diocese.
That’s 400% more than what teachers received last year in the rural Louisiana parish of about 20,000 people, Mehta said.
The influx of funding is “changing the lives of teachers and their families” and “transforming our schools,” the diocese’s Superintendent Sheldon Jones said in a statement shared by Meta.
“Last year, our teachers received a $10,000 bonus, and this year their checks have exceeded $50,000,” Jones said, adding, “Thanks to Mehta’s investment, the Diocese of Richland has become a destination not only for industry but also for education.”
Jones did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for further comment.
According to Meta, the Hyperion project is one of the world’s largest investments in AI infrastructure.
Meta said in a post Monday that local Louisiana companies have received more than $1.6 billion in contracts from the company since breaking ground on the 4 million square foot site in December 2024.
“This expansion will invest more than $1 billion in regional infrastructure improvements, including roads, water and wastewater systems,” Mehta said.
It added that the company “is responsible for the full cost of the energy, water, and related infrastructure used by its data centers, so consumers are not paying for it.”
The project’s expansion marks a dramatic escalation from last year, when Meta and investment firm Blue Owl Capital planned more than 2 gigawatts of computing power and estimated the data center’s price tag at about $27 billion.
Meta says that once the data center is operational, it will create more than 1,000 jobs.
While Mehta has touted the project’s economic benefits, the rapid construction of AI data centers by Big Tech has become a flashpoint, with critics raising widespread concerns about energy demand, water consumption and the strain on local infrastructure.