- Meta’s 4,000-acre Hyperion data center will receive an additional $40 billion investment
- Meta says the project has been a huge benefit to the Richland Parish community
- Several groups and local residents have criticized the massive campus and its energy supply
Meta has announced that an additional $40 billion will be used to finance the construction of its massive 4,000-acre data center campus in Richland Parish, Louisiana.
This additional funding brings the total Meta investment for the ‘Hyperion’ site to over $250 billion when combined with the $200 billion Bloomberg reported committed to the project in May, plus a previously announced $10 billion investment for the data center and surrounding community.
The data center itself is expected to consume 5 gigawatts of computing power, with an additional 2 gigawatts for broader campus needs, placing the expected total consumption at completion at more than three times the power consumed by the city of New Orleans.
In a Meta blog post, the company touted the benefits of the massive data center campus for the local community.
It cites $50,000 in bonuses for local teachers thanks to increased tax revenue at the Hyperion campus, along with $1.6 billion in contracts for local businesses and other funding from Meta for public schools and youth programs through the Data Center Community Action Grants project.
“It’s life-changing for our teachers and their families, and it’s transforming our schools. Meta’s investment has made Richland Parish a destination for education as well as industry,” Richland Parish School District Superintendent Sheldon Jones told Meta.
Meta also said that once the project was complete, it would support 1,000 jobs. There is also an additional $1 billion earmarked for investments in local infrastructure improvements, including roads, water and wastewater systems.
A promotional video accompanying Meta’s local funding news shows the story of a backwater town facing a lack of business and opportunity, with local residents, teachers and business owners talking about the positives of having the Hyperion campus built, accompanied by upbeat orchestral music.
While the featured people in the Meta PR video preach the benefits, there has also been local opposition to the project, which has been steeped in controversy.
The other side of the coin
Several environmental and consumer groups have pushed back against the project since its announcement, particularly over how power to the data center will be generated. Entergy Louisiana is spending billions to build 10 new gas-fired power plants to provide the electricity it needs. But many communities across the United States that live near such power plants have reported a flurry of symptoms, such as dizziness, nausea, vertigo and sleep disturbances.
A Floodlight study, published by Guardianfound that the success of Hyperion’s approval rested largely on the shoulders of a single Louisiana state senator, John “Jay” Morris.
Many of the land purchases and sales required for Entergy to build the planned gas turbine facility were made by Morris and his partners, Floodlight alleges. Louisiana law requires officials to recuse themselves from voting when there is a conflict and prohibits the use of public office for private gain.
Morris has denied any wrongdoing. “It’s a good story if you can try to show that I have some kind of conflict. But under Louisiana ethics laws, I don’t,” Morris told the Guardian.
The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and the Alliance for Affordable Energy (AAE) have both criticized the Hyperion site, particularly the amount of power it is planned to consume, and warn that the site will unfairly shift the cost of electricity and infrastructure upgrades to the site.
In addition, approval of the Entergy gas turbine power plant was fast-tracked through the Louisiana Public Service Commission, with UCS warning that Entergy ratepayers would have to cover the cost of a $550 million transmission line needed only because of the Hyperion site, along with fuel costs for the new gas turbine plant.
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews and opinions in your feeds.
