Orban LabsOrban Labs
JournalMapAbout
Supporting note · AI x Energy

Meta Hyperion: Entergy to Build 7 Additional Gas Plants for >7 GW Total Site Load

Meta's Hyperion data center campus in Richland Parish, Louisiana is expanding from 3 to 10 natural gas plants, totaling more than 7 GW. Entergy will build the 7 additional plants (5.2 GW); Meta pays its full cost of service. Total Hyperion project cost projected above $200 billion.

May 25, 2026 · 3 min read

Summary

Meta has agreed with Entergy Louisiana to build seven additional natural gas plants to power the Hyperion data center campus in Richland Parish, Louisiana - bringing the site’s total power infrastructure to 10 natural gas facilities delivering over 7 GW. The seven new plants will add 5.2 GW to the original three. About 5 GW will go to compute workloads; the remainder powers broader campus operations. The deal is structured so Meta “pays its full cost of service,” with Entergy projecting >$2B in customer savings over 20 years. Total Hyperion projected cost is now above $200 billion. The seven new plants require state regulatory approval.

Headline Numbers

  • Hyperion total power: >7 GW (from 10 gas facilities)
  • New plants: 7 (adding 5.2 GW to existing 3)
  • Power split: ~5 GW compute / ~2 GW campus operations
  • Project cost: >$200B
  • Customer savings (Entergy projection): >$2B over 20 years
  • Regulatory status: state approval required for the 7 new plants
  • Original 3 plants: Entergy already approved earlier

Conclusions

Hyperion is now the largest single data center / power project in US history by both capex (>$200B) and power load (>7 GW). The site alone consumes more power than the entire state of South Dakota. It represents a step-change in what “hyperscale” means physically.

The structural read: Meta is funding equivalent-of-utility-scale generation through a regulated-utility framework, not pure BTM. Entergy builds and operates; Meta pays cost-of-service plus customer savings allocation. This is a hybrid model - not classical BTM (Microsoft-Chevron Pecos style - see microsoft-chevron-pecos-jeti-tax), not classical grid-connected (where ratepayers subsidize tech load), but a regulated-utility-as-prime-contractor structure that Entergy is pioneering at hyperscale.

Combined Meta Power Profile (2026)

  • Hyperion (LA): 10 gas plants, >7 GW
  • El Paso (TX): $437M, 1 GW BTM, 366 MW modular gas
  • New Albany (OH): 200 MW gas plant (Ohio regulators approved)
  • 6.6 GW nuclear package with Vistra / TerraPower / Oklo (Jan 2026, covered Ep3)

Total Meta-funded generation commitments: roughly 15+ GW across gas and nuclear.

Our Thinking

The Hyperion expansion is the most concrete proof yet that H4 (BTM/dedicated-generation as default for new US data centers by 2028) is materializing earlier than expected. The variation Meta picked (regulated utility as prime contractor) is not exactly BTM, but it solves the same problems: ratepayer cost insulation, captive generation, and faster commissioning than queueing for grid interconnection.

For Roman’s lens, the Entergy structure is important: it shows there is a third path between pure-BTM and pure-grid-connected. Regulated utilities can become hyperscale-dedicated capacity builders if the rate structure isolates the data-center load. This is a model that Mexican utilities (CFE adjacent), Latin American gencos (EnfraGen, AES Andes), and other emerging-market regulated providers could adopt in their own markets. The structural template now exists.

The $200B+ total project cost for a single data center campus also recalibrates the $725B hyperscaler capex annual figure (see hyperscaler-q1-capex-725b) - Hyperion alone represents nearly 30% of one year’s capex commitment, spread over multiple years. The capex is concentrating in fewer, larger sites.

Watch

  • Louisiana PSC approval for the 7 new plants (regulatory milestone)
  • Entergy capex revisions in next earnings print
  • GE Vernova / Siemens / Mitsubishi turbine awards for Hyperion plants
  • Hyperion construction milestones and commissioning dates
  • Other hyperscaler-utility “regulated dedicated capacity” arrangements (potential precedent: NextEra-Exxon Permian, Vistra-Comanche Peak)
  • Local Louisiana political response (environmental groups, ratepayer advocates)
Orban LabsOrban Labs
← AI x Energy
Supporting note · AI x Energy

Meta Hyperion: Entergy to Build 7 Additional Gas Plants for >7 GW Total Site Load

Meta's Hyperion data center campus in Richland Parish, Louisiana is expanding from 3 to 10 natural gas plants, totaling more than 7 GW. Entergy will build the 7 additional plants (5.2 GW); Meta pays its full cost of service. Total Hyperion project cost projected above $200 billion.

May 25, 2026 · 3 min read

Summary

Meta has agreed with Entergy Louisiana to build seven additional natural gas plants to power the Hyperion data center campus in Richland Parish, Louisiana - bringing the site’s total power infrastructure to 10 natural gas facilities delivering over 7 GW. The seven new plants will add 5.2 GW to the original three. About 5 GW will go to compute workloads; the remainder powers broader campus operations. The deal is structured so Meta “pays its full cost of service,” with Entergy projecting >$2B in customer savings over 20 years. Total Hyperion projected cost is now above $200 billion. The seven new plants require state regulatory approval.

Headline Numbers

Conclusions

Hyperion is now the largest single data center / power project in US history by both capex (>$200B) and power load (>7 GW). The site alone consumes more power than the entire state of South Dakota. It represents a step-change in what “hyperscale” means physically.

The structural read: Meta is funding equivalent-of-utility-scale generation through a regulated-utility framework, not pure BTM. Entergy builds and operates; Meta pays cost-of-service plus customer savings allocation. This is a hybrid model - not classical BTM (Microsoft-Chevron Pecos style - see microsoft-chevron-pecos-jeti-tax), not classical grid-connected (where ratepayers subsidize tech load), but a regulated-utility-as-prime-contractor structure that Entergy is pioneering at hyperscale.

Combined Meta Power Profile (2026)

Total Meta-funded generation commitments: roughly 15+ GW across gas and nuclear.

Our Thinking

The Hyperion expansion is the most concrete proof yet that H4 (BTM/dedicated-generation as default for new US data centers by 2028) is materializing earlier than expected. The variation Meta picked (regulated utility as prime contractor) is not exactly BTM, but it solves the same problems: ratepayer cost insulation, captive generation, and faster commissioning than queueing for grid interconnection.

For Roman’s lens, the Entergy structure is important: it shows there is a third path between pure-BTM and pure-grid-connected. Regulated utilities can become hyperscale-dedicated capacity builders if the rate structure isolates the data-center load. This is a model that Mexican utilities (CFE adjacent), Latin American gencos (EnfraGen, AES Andes), and other emerging-market regulated providers could adopt in their own markets. The structural template now exists.

The $200B+ total project cost for a single data center campus also recalibrates the $725B hyperscaler capex annual figure (see hyperscaler-q1-capex-725b) - Hyperion alone represents nearly 30% of one year’s capex commitment, spread over multiple years. The capex is concentrating in fewer, larger sites.

Watch