https://www.newsmax.com/newsfr...dkt_nbr=010502e8nsb7

Meta Unveils 'Largest AI Data Center Ever' in Louisiana

Meta announced Monday that it is dramatically expanding its AI data center campus in rural Louisiana, creating what the company says will be one of the largest data centers ever built.

The new artificial intelligence data center set for Richland Parish, a region in the state's northeast Delta country, marks a milestone in its broader push to build the infrastructure powering the next generation of AI.

The expansion will increase the campus to 5 gigawatts (GW) of compute capacity, representing a total investment of more than $50 billion in Louisiana.

The project, unveiled today alongside Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry in Baton Rouge, is expected to create more than 1,000 permanent jobs once operational while reshaping the economy of Richland Parish, a rural community of roughly 20,000 residents.

The announcement comes as Meta accelerates one of the technology industry's most ambitious AI infrastructure build-outs.

Under the leadership of Meta President Dina Powell, who has been overseeing the company's AI expansion strategy, the company has committed tens of billions of dollars to rapidly scale the computing capacity needed to support advanced AI models, generative AI products, and future artificial intelligence services across its platforms.

The Richland Parish campus has become a centerpiece of that strategy, illustrating how investments in AI infrastructure are extending beyond traditional technology hubs into rural America.

According to Meta, the project has already generated significant economic benefits since construction began in December 2024.

Louisiana businesses have secured more than $1.6 billion in contracts, while the company plans to invest an additional $1 billion in roads, water systems, wastewater infrastructure, and other community improvements.

Local schools have experienced some of the most visible impacts. Increased tax revenues tied to the project enabled teachers in Richland Parish to receive annual bonuses exceeding $50,000, roughly four times larger than last year's bonuses.

"Last year, our teachers received a $10,000 bonus; this year, that check was over $50,000," said Richland Parish Superintendent Sheldon Jones.

"It's life-altering for our teachers and their families, and it's transforming our schools," he added.

Meta has also provided funding to every public school in the parish through direct donations and its Data Center Community Action Grants program.

To help prepare local workers for long-term employment, Meta is donating $5 million to Louisiana Delta Community College to establish scholarships for data center workforce training.

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 course.

The economic ripple effects have also reached local entrepreneurs.

Tim and Lindsey Allen said they launched their restaurant, Holy Tacos, after Meta announced plans for the project, while coffee shop owners TJ and Kaycie Weed said their business has expanded from a single location serving about 40 customers a day to three locations, with a fourth planned this fall.

Meta said the expansion also includes a new energy agreement expected to save Entergy Louisiana customers more than $2 billion over the next two decades, in addition to approximately $650 million in savings generated under a previous agreement.

The company said it pays the full costs associated with the energy, water, and related infrastructure used by the facility, ensuring those expenses are not passed on to utility customers.

As demand for AI computing continues to surge, Meta's Louisiana investment underscores the growing scale of the infrastructure race among major technology companies while demonstrating how massive data center developments can transform local economies far beyond Silicon Valley.

23 Governors sign Trump-led cost pledge to power AI data centers

OAN Staff Lillian Mann
6:05 PM – Thursday, July 23, 2026

President Donald Trump announced that 23 governors have signed an expansion of the Ratepayer Protection Pledge, seeking to protect American households from the high costs associated with data centers that power ever-expanding artificial intelligence (AI) across the United States.

Speaking at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, President Trump, who has defended data centers against local pushback, highlighted the growing coalition alongside four of the state governors.

The governors — all of whom are Republicans — have joined the growing coalition behind Trump’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge.

“Under this groundbreaking plan, America’s largest tech companies have formally committed to fund or build all energy infrastructure required to meet the demand they are placing on the grid. So they’re going to be funding all of those electric needs, and we’re giving them the right to build their own power plants,” Trump said on Thursday at the EPA headquarters.

“Data centers and AI are dramatically increasing the demand for electricity. It’s only fair that the cost of building the new infrastructure required to meet this demand should be borne by the corporations themselves, not by the American consumers and the American patriots,” he added.



Roughly 200 stakeholders, including major utilities, data center developers and public power cooperatives, have signed the pledge since the White House introduced it in March.

Those who sign the motion agree to “protect American consumers from price hikes due to data center energy and infrastructure requirements, and lower electricity costs for consumers in the long term,” according to USA Today.



Trump encouraged communities to embrace data centers.

“You can’t fight it, you have to go with it, and you’re going to have all this protection. You’re going to make a tremendous amount of money, you’re going to reduce taxes, and you’re going to have something where, if you don’t have it, everybody else wants it,” said the president.

“They’re going to be building your own electric plants,” he declared. “You’re essentially becoming a utility.”

He added that “the rates are going to go down” as companies generate additional electricity that can also feed back into the grid.

Ahead of Trump’s remarks, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the expanded pledge aims to guarantee that “the American people are never left footing the bill so private companies can benefit.”

First introduced in March, the Ratepayer Protection Pledge gained early support from tech leaders such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Meta, OpenAI, Oracle and xAI, who agreed to cover the costs of grid upgrades and power generation required for their AI data centers.

https://www.oann.com/newsroom/...wer-ai-data-centers/

quote:

The governors — all of whom are Republicans — have joined the growing coalition behind Trump’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge.

As has been said here on the Forum before, even if Trump had a cure for cancer, the D governors wouldn't support it.

Don’t we want data center nearby so we have viable targets when Skynet comes online?!