Meta Unveils Plan for 1GW-Scale Data Center in Indiana

Meta, the social media company behind Facebook and Instagram, has announced plans to develop a massive 1-gigawatt (GW) data center campus in Lebanon, Indiana, located approximately 29 miles (47 kilometers) northwest of Indianapolis. The project marks one of Meta’s largest infrastructure investments to date, with the company committing over $10 billion to the initiative.

"This facility represents an investment of over $10 billion in data center infrastructure and the surrounding community, one of our largest infrastructure investments to date", said Meta in its announcement.

A Major Development for Indiana

The data center campus will occupy a site in Boone County, and initial plans suggest a configuration of around a dozen buildings of varying sizes. The project was first hinted at in 2024, following Meta’s successful bid to secure tax abatements from the local council.

Meta has emphasized its commitment to sustainability and community responsibility. The company stated that it will cover the full costs of energy used by the data center and will collaborate with utility companies to ensure local residents are not negatively impacted. Additionally, the company pledged to offset all energy consumption at the campus and restore 100 percent of the water it uses to the surrounding watersheds.

"The data center will use a water-efficient closed-loop, liquid-cooled system that recirculates the same water and will use zero water for a majority of the year", Meta explained.

Expanding Presence in Indiana

The new Lebanon campus will be Meta’s second development in Indiana. In 2024, the company announced plans for another data center campus in Jeffersonville, located in Clark County near the Kentucky border. The Jeffersonville site spans 619 acres within the River Ridge Commerce Center industrial park and represents an $800 million investment. The campus is expected to include around 700,000 square feet (65,030 square meters) of data center space. Recent updates indicate that construction of the first buildings is complete, with equipment racks currently being installed at the site.

A Broader Strategy for Growth

Meta’s ambitious data center developments in Indiana are part of a larger strategy to scale its global infrastructure. The company operates or is developing 30 data center campuses worldwide, including several gigawatt-scale projects across the United States. Its Hyperion campus in Louisiana, for instance, could exceed 5GW upon full build-out. Additionally, Meta is expanding its existing facility in Ohio to gigawatt-scale capacity.

In January, the company created a new division called Meta Compute to oversee the development of large-scale data center projects. According to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the division aims to build "tens of gigawatts of compute this decade, and hundreds of gigawatts or more over time." Meta plans to invest between $115 billion and $135 billion in capital expenditures in 2026 alone and has previously stated its intention to spend $600 billion on U.S. data centers by 2028.

Commitment to Community and Sustainability

Meta’s focus on sustainability and resource efficiency is central to its data center projects. By using advanced cooling systems and offsetting energy and water consumption, the company aims to minimize environmental impact while supporting local communities. The Lebanon project is poised to deliver significant economic benefits to the region while reinforcing Meta’s position as a leader in developing cutting-edge digital infrastructure.

With construction underway, the Lebanon campus represents a major step forward in Meta’s efforts to expand its global data center network and meet the growing demands of its social media platforms and artificial intelligence initiatives.

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