Side-by-side
Meta Hyperion AI Data Center vs Applied Digital Project Lightning
Two Louisiana AI data center projects, compared on operator, parish, status, focus, and what to watch next. Click into either project for full detail and source citations.
| Attribute | Meta Hyperion AI Data Center | Applied Digital Project Lightning |
|---|---|---|
| Operator | Meta | Applied Digital |
| Parent | Meta Platforms, Inc. | Applied Digital Corporation |
| Parish | Richland Parish | Rapides Parish (near Boyce) |
| Status | Under construction — major expansion underway | Site acquired — early development |
| Category | Hyperscale AI/data-center campus | AI compute & high-performance computing |
| Summary | Meta's largest data center to date: a $10B+ (potentially up to $27B–$30B) AI-optimized campus on ~4 million sq ft across thousands of acres in northeast Louisiana. Delivering over 2 GW of compute capacity. | 672-acre site purchased for $26.9M. Expected to create 1,500 construction jobs and 200 permanent positions in the first phase. |
| Why it matters | Massive power demand driving Entergy to build 7–10 new natural gas plants. Track supplier RFPs, construction contracts, workforce training programs, cooling/water solutions, and secondary real estate/logistics opportunities. Construction peak expected to create thousands of temporary jobs. | Central Louisiana positioning makes it a strong contender for additional hyperscale tenants. Watch for equipment procurement, site work, and workforce development signals. |
LouisianAI comparison pages cross-link source-backed project detail. For any commercial or regulatory decision, consult the primary filings linked from the project detail pages.