By Connor Hart

Meta will build a $10 billion data center in northeast Louisiana as it continues to pour resources into investments in artificial intelligence and augmented reality.

The 4 million square-foot build, located in Richland Parish, La., will be optimized for the social-media company's AI workloads and be its largest data center in the world, it said Wednesday.

Construction is expected to start this month and last through 2030. Once complete, the data center will support 500 jobs, while Baton Rouge-based agency Louisiana Economic Development, or LED, estimates the project will create an additional roughly 1,000 indirect jobs in the area. At its peak, about 5,000 construction workers will be employed at the 2,250-acre site.

The project comes as Mark Zuckerberg, Meta's chief executive, is spending big to capitalize on the AI boom, supporting ambitions that include having the most-used AI assistant in the world. In October, the company said it expects "significant" growth in capital expenditures next year and raised the lower end of its forecast for 2024 capital expenditures to between $38 billion and $40 billion, from $37 billion to $40 billion.

To power the Louisiana data center and meet growing power demands in the area, Entergy will add what LED called clean, efficient power plants to its system. Meta additionally pledged to match its electricity use with clean and renewable energy, and to contribute up to $1 million a year to Entergy's low-income rate payer support program, the agency said.

Apart from the data center, Meta will invest $200 million in local infrastructure improvements, including roads and water systems.

Director of Data Center Strategy Kevin Janda said Richland Parish was chosen as the site thanks to its access to infrastructure, reliable grid and business-friendly climate.

"We're thrilled to be a new member of the Richland Parish community and are committed to investing in its long-term vitality," he said.

The company is expected to take advantage of a Louisiana incentive program offering state- and local-sales and use-tax rebates on the purchase or lease of data center equipment, LED said.

"Louisiana has been actively positioning itself as a hub for AI innovation, with plans to support startups, grow a skilled workforce and shape forward-thinking policy," LED Secretary Susan Bourgeois said.

Write to Connor Hart at connor.hart@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 04, 2024 14:16 ET (19:16 GMT)

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