Meta funds 10 natural gas plants to power $27 billion AI data center in Louisiana

Meta's natural gas binge could power South Dakota | TechCrunch

Data centers have gotten so large that their power demands now rival entire U.S. states. Take Meta's Hyperion AI data center, for example. When completed, the new AI data center will draw as much electricity as South Dakota. Last week, the Meta announced it would fund seven natural gas power plants -- on top of the three it had already committed to building -- to support the $27 billion data center. When combined, the 10 power plants in Louisiana will generate around 7.5 gigawatts of electricity, slightly more than the capacity of the entire Mount Rushmore State. Like many tech companies, Meta has touted its climate and environmental bonafides over the years. It regularly publishes sustainability reports, and it frequently crows about its renewable energy purchases. It effectively bought a nuclear power plant for 20 years. Meta's Hyperion data center site in Louisiana will test the company's commitments. Natural gas has been hailed as a "bridge fuel" -- build a few natural gas power plants now while renewables, batteries, and nuclear get their legs under them. That's almost certainly how Meta is justifying the move internally. But people have been making the bridge fuel argument for decades, and it's wearing a little thin. Renewables and batteries have plummeted in price while prices for gas turbines have been skyrocketed. Meta has been a leading purchaser of solar, batteries, and nuclear in recent years, which makes the decision to go big on natural gas all the more perplexing. TechCrunch reached out to Meta. The company did not reply to multiple requests for comment. The massive turbines in Louisiana will dump 12.4 million metric tons of CO into the atmosphere every year, according to TechCrunch's calculations, which is based on data from the Department of Energy. That is 50% more than Meta's entire carbon footprint in 2024, the most recent year such numbers are available. That figure is an underestimate of the climate impact, too, since it doesn't include leaks from the natural gas supply chain. Methane, the main component of natural gas, warms the planet 84 times more than carbon dioxide. Even leakage rates of 0.2% along the supply chain can make natural gas' climate impact worse than coal. In the U.S., natural gas production and pipelines leak methane at a rate that's closer to 3%. That's hardly clean power. The company's latest sustainability report makes no mention of methane leaks. It doesn't mention methane or natural gas at all. And yet the fuel is poised to become one of the largest contributors to Meta's carbon footprint in the coming years. The company may well stick to it's climate pledge and find a way to offset those emissions through carbon removal credits. But now it will need a lot more of them, along with an honest accounting of exactly how much methane will leak into the atmosphere in service of feeding its new power plants.

Meta to fund seven new natural gas power plants to fuel AI data centers -- Entergy partnership to deliver 7 gigawatts of power for Louisiana AI facility

Meta is paying for the construction of seven new natural gas plants to supply its largest data center, massively expanding the fossil fuel infrastructure underpinning its AI buildout. The company reached a new agreement with Entergy Corp. to build the plants, which will provide an additional 5.2 gigawatts of electricity to the Hyperion campus in Richland Parish, Louisiana, Entergy's local subsidiary said Friday, as reported by Bloomberg. Entergy received approval to build three gas plants last year, which will generate roughly 2.3 gigawatts of electricity for Meta. With the new expansion, Hyperion will be served by a total of 10 natural gas facilities, delivering more than 7 gigawatts. Entergy received regulatory approval for that initial batch of plants in 2025 and subsequently applied to connect additional gas generation to Louisiana's grid to meet rising demand. Still, the seven new plants will need their own sign-off from state regulators before construction can begin. Meta is not just paying for power generation, though; the company will also fund 240 miles of new transmission lines connecting South Louisiana to North Louisiana and Arkansas, battery energy storage systems, and nuclear power uprates at existing Entergy facilities. The scope of this commitment will extend well beyond the plants, effectively underwriting a regional grid expansion to serve a single campus. The deal is structured so that Meta "pays its full cost of service," according to Entergy, which projects the agreement will deliver more than $2 billion in customer savings over 20 years. Meta declined to say how much it would spend on the gas plants and associated infrastructure, per Bloomberg. Of Hyperion's total power draw, approximately 5 gigawatts will go to compute workloads, with the remainder powering broader campus operations, a Meta spokesperson said. All this comes amid a growing political fight over who pays for AI-driven electricity demand. Earlier this month, President Donald Trump demanded that technology companies pledge to cover their own power costs, ensuring residential bills don't rise as a result of the data center infrastructure boom. Rachel Peterson, Meta's vice president of data centers, says that the Entergy filing aligns with the so-called Ratepayer Protection Plans proposed by the White House and with Louisiana's "business-friendly [regulatory] environment." A Meta spokesperson said that the company remains committed to its climate goals, but didn't elaborate on how building a total of ten gas plants to feed its AI ambitions fits within them. The agreement includes a Meta commitment to help fund up to 2.5GW of new renewable energy resources, and the two companies also signed a memorandum of understanding to explore the future development and use of nuclear power. Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News, or add us as a preferred source, to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds.

Meta orders 10 gas-fired power plants for its Hyperion AI campus in rural Louisiana -- more than triple the initial plans | Fortune

Meta will pay for a total of 10 gas-fired power plants -- enough to power more than 5 million homes -- to electrify its rapidly expanding plans for its massive AI data center complex in northeastern Louisiana, dubbed Hyperion. Meta's new agreement with New Orleans-based Entergy, announced March 27, is to build and finance seven new power plants in Louisiana. That comes on top of plans approved last year to build three gas power plants for the sprawling AI hub. The 10 power plants with 7.5 gigawatts of capacity would represent more than a 30% increase toLouisiana's entire grid capacity, not even counting up to 2.5 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity, including battery storage, that Meta also agreed to help fund. Meta initially announced plans for a $10 billion investment in December 2024 for a 2,250-acre data center campus in northeastern Louisiana in rural Richland Parish. But Meta recently, and quietly, acquired an additional 1,400 acres, as Fortune reported in February. In October 2025, Meta entered a joint venture with funds managed by Blue Owl Capital to finance, build, and operate the Hyperion campus with up to $27 billion in total development costs, seemingly ensuring the mega campus will serve as a long-term, multiphase AI hub. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said Hyperion would cover a "significant part of the footprint of Manhattan." "Our Richland Parish data center serves as a symbol of the ambition and scale of next-generation AI infrastructure," said Rachel Peterson, Meta vice president for data centers, in a statement. "We are building foundations for the future of AI innovation right here in the United States. We've been working closely with Entergy since early on-site planning to ensure our power needs are met and, importantly, so that Entergy's other consumers aren't paying our costs." The Louisiana Public Utility Commission will still need to approve the projects. The previous three power plants received regulatory authorization last year. Entergy's stock jumped 7% on March 27, lifting its market cap to a new record high of about $50 billion. The stock has risen almost 125% in two years. Entergy is emphasizing that Meta is paying for the projects, rather than shifting the costs to other ratepayers. Entergy argues that the deals will save Louisiana taxpayers billions of dollars over several years. The 10 power plants are estimated to cost nearly $11 billion. Critics contend ratepayers could be stuck with the bill after 15 years, which is the length of the contractual terms, if Meta no longer requires so much power after that span. "This agreement reflects what's possible when strong partners align around long-term growth and value," said Phillip May, president and CEO of Entergy Louisiana, in a statement. "Working with our customers, regulators and state leaders, we are making targeted investments that strengthen reliability, support economic development and deliver meaningful benefits to customers -- all while keeping energy rates affordable."

Meta to fund seven gas plants for its Louisiana AI data center

Meta will fund the construction of seven new natural gas power plants to support its largest data center, currently under development in Louisiana, WSJ reports. This initiative is part of a broader pledge by the company to address rising electricity costs in local communities. The $27 billion mega data center in Richland Parish will require substantial energy infrastructure. Under a deal with Entergy Louisiana, Meta will finance seven gas plants with a combined output of 5,200 megawatts, as well as 240 miles of transmission lines operating at 500 kilovolts. Additionally, Meta plans to invest in up to 2,500 megawatts of new renewable energy sources, alongside a memorandum of understanding for future nuclear power development. This project spans 4 million square feet and represents a significant expansion of Meta's operational capacity. This energy initiative aligns with pledges from multiple tech companies to mitigate increased electricity costs for residents impacted by AI data centers. Companies have committed to "build, bring or buy" new energy resources while covering their associated costs. However, the pledge is non-binding and lacks enforcement mechanisms. Local communities have expressed concerns regarding the environmental impact of AI data centers. A December poll found that 60 percent of Americans, including majorities across political affiliations, support increased regulation of AI technology. Recent legislative proposals, including a bill from Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, aim to impose a moratorium on data center construction until regulations are established.

Meta to build seven natural gas power plants to power its new mega AI data center

TL;DR: Meta is building a $27 billion, 4 million-square-foot data center in Richland Parish, Louisiana, focused on AI and large language model training. To support its energy needs, Meta is funding seven natural gas power plants and renewable energy projects, aiming to balance power demands while minimizing community impact. Meta is currently building a new $27 billion data center in Richland Parish, Louisiana, the company's biggest to date. Naturally, it's all about AI, with Meta noting that this 4 million-square-foot Richland Parish Data Center will play a "vital role in accelerating our AI progress, delivering over two gigawatts of compute capacity to train future open-source large language models." With the energy requirements of these new data centers straining local grids and energy supplies, Meta has reportedly struck a deal with Entergy Louisiana to fund and help build seven new natural gas power plants in the region. With a combined power output of 5,200 megawatts, this is enough to cover "two gigawatts of compute" of the data center and then some. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, the energy deal also includes 240 miles of 500-kilovolt transmission or power lines and battery storage. Now, although "natural gas" might sound good on paper, it's not exactly clean - it's still a fossil fuel. Albeit one with fewer emissions than coal-fired plants. And with that, in addition to funding seven new natural gas power plants for its new mega data center, Meta will also help fund up to 2,500W of renewable energy resources with the potential to develop nuclear power. This all falls under Meta's pledge (made with other tech giants) to fund or build the energy and electricity infrastructure it needs to meet the energy demands of AI data centers. Construction of the Richland Parish Data Center is currently underway. In addition to meeting the data center's energy needs with natural gas power plants, Meta has also previously stated that it will minimize the water impact by restoring local watersheds as part of its "restoring more water than we consume globally in 2030" goals.