In December 2024, Meta announced its decision to locate a $10 billion AI Optimization Center in Northeast Louisiana, in Richland Parish, a milestone that has placed the state squarely in the national competition for data centers and AI-driven investment. Louisiana has since enacted a new data center sales and use tax exemption, aligning itself with aggressive incentive policies emerging across the country. The development is expected to be Meta’s largest data center in the world, spanning roughly 2,250 acres with approximately 4 million square feet of data center and support facilities at full build-out.
With the Meta project underway, Louisiana is now firmly on the radar of other hyperscale data center and AI operators. State officials report a marked increase in inquiries and site evaluations for large-load projects.
To prepare for this potential pipeline, Louisiana has established a Task Force on Energy Infrastructure. These efforts position Louisiana as a rising hub for AI, cloud computing, and data-driven industries, supported by a blend of incentives, infrastructure investments, and targeted policy initiatives.
Nationally, the last several months have seen an unprecedented wave of mega-scale data center announcements, including:
– AWS’s $10 billion AI/Cloud Campus in North Carolina
– AWS’s $11 billion infrastructure expansion in Georgia
– The proposed $9.7 billion “Project West” development in Georgia
– Cielo Digital Infrastructure’s $2.1 billion project in South Carolina
– Vantage Data Centers’ $25+ billion mega-campus in Texas
– The $100 billion initial investment by Stargate LLC (OpenAI/Oracle/SoftBank) across Texas