Meta’s 5GW AI Data Center Signals Energy-Hungry Future
Meta AI Data Center: A Landmark Shift in Scale and Power
Meta has announced a major step in the AI infrastructure race. CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed that the company is building a new facility—Hyperion—designed to deliver five gigawatts (GW) of compute power. This meta AI data center will fuel Meta’s Superintelligence Lab and could be one of the largest of its kind globally.
Previously, Meta attracted top AI leaders from Scale AI and Safe Superintelligence. Now, it is turning attention to the infrastructure required to support large-scale AI models. This marks a strategic shift from talent acquisition to computational scale.
Hyperion and Prometheus: Expanding AI Capacity
Hyperion will be located in Richland Parish, Louisiana, where Meta had already announced a $10 billion data center project. According to company spokesperson Ashley Gabriel, Meta plans to bring two gigawatts of capacity online by 2030. Over time, that will increase to five gigawatts.
Moreover, Meta is also developing Prometheus, a 1GW AI super cluster in New Albany, Ohio, which is set to go live in 2026. When operational, both Hyperion and Prometheus will significantly boost Meta’s ability to train advanced AI models. As a result, Meta will gain a stronger foothold against OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Anthropic.
Massive AI Infrastructure Carries Local Impact
Although these projects push technological boundaries, they also raise serious concerns about local impact. Meta’s data center in Newton County, Georgia, has already strained water resources—causing household taps to run dry, according to reports.
Likewise, other AI infrastructure efforts could lead to similar effects. For instance, CoreWeave’s upcoming center in Texas may double the electricity needs of a nearby city. Clearly, the growth of meta AI data centers could stretch local utilities and ecosystems if energy production doesn’t keep up.
Government Support and the AI-Energy Frontier
At the federal level, there is strong support for AI expansion. President Donald Trump has promoted OpenAI’s Stargate project and emphasized the need to scale America’s AI capabilities.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright recently stated that the country must lead the next energy-intensive wave—artificial intelligence. He highlighted that AI transforms raw electricity into “the most valuable output imaginable: intelligence.” To meet future demands, he advocates boosting energy from coal, nuclear, geothermal, and natural gas.
Projections suggest that data centers could consume 20% of U.S. energy by 2030, a sharp increase from just 2.5% in 2022. Without increased production, this could create infrastructure pressure in many regions.
What does the exponential growth of AI infrastructure mean for energy equity and local communities?
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