Meta to build $10 billion AI data center in Louisiana as Elon Musk expands his Tennessee AI facility

Associated Press/Report for America

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Facebook’s parent company Meta says it will build a $10 billion artificial intelligence data center in northeast Louisiana. Meta’s largest-ever data center is expected to transform an economically neglected part of the state. But it has also raised concerns over its planned energy usage. And in Memphis, Tennessee, the chamber of commerce said Wednesday that Elon Musk’s AI startup plans to expand its supercomputer facility there. The chamber said other tech companies are poised to establish operations there. While elected officials have heralded the anticipated jobs as an economic boon, environmental and affordable energy groups have raised concerns around both facilities’ energy usage.