en.Wedoany.com Reported - Meta has announced an additional $40 billion investment to build its massive data center campus in Richland Parish, Louisiana, USA. The campus, named "Hyperion," spans approximately 4,000 acres.

This additional funding brings Meta's total investment in the project to over $250 billion. Bloomberg previously reported that Meta allocated $200 billion for this project in May, in addition to an earlier announced $10 billion investment in the data center and surrounding community development. The data center itself is expected to consume 5 gigawatts (GW) of computing power, with the entire campus consuming an additional 2 GW. According to projections, the total electricity consumption upon project completion will be more than three times that of New Orleans.

In an official blog post, Meta outlined the positive impact of the massive data center campus on the local community. The post stated that due to tax revenue growth from the Hyperion campus, local teachers received $50,000 bonuses, and $1.6 billion flowed to local business contracts. Meta also provided funding for public schools and youth programs through its Data Center Community Action Grant program. Richland Parish School District Superintendent Sheldon Jones told Meta that the investment has significantly improved the lives of teachers and their families, transformed local schools, and made the parish a destination for education and industry. Meta stated that the project will support 1,000 jobs upon completion, with an additional $1 billion specifically allocated to improving local infrastructure, including roads, water supply, and wastewater systems.

However, the project has faced controversy since its announcement. Multiple environmental and consumer groups have opposed it, with the primary concern being the data center's power source. To meet electricity demand, Entergy Louisiana is investing billions of dollars to build 10 new gas-fired power plants. But many communities living near these plants have reported symptoms such as dizziness, nausea, vertigo, and sleep disturbances. Additionally, according to a Floodlight investigation published by The Guardian, the approval process for the Hyperion project was closely tied to Louisiana State Senator John "Jay" Morris. The investigation claimed that many land transactions required for Entergy's planned gas turbine plants were facilitated by Morris and his partners. Morris denied any wrongdoing, stating that under Louisiana's ethics laws, he had no conflict of interest. The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and the Alliance for Affordable Energy (AAE) have both criticized the Hyperion project, warning that it would unfairly shift the costs of electricity and infrastructure upgrades onto local residents. UCS also noted that Entergy's gas turbine plants were fast-tracked for approval by the state Public Service Commission, and ratepayers will have to bear the cost of a $550 million transmission line built specifically for the Hyperion project, as well as the fuel costs for the new gas turbine plants.