Longtime GPRS safety partners Turner Construction, DPR Construction, and the M.A. Mortensen Company have been tapped by Meta to build a 4 million square foot data center campus for the tech giant in Louisiana’s Richland Parish.
The project represents Meta’s largest artificial intelligence (AI) investment to date, according to a press release issued by the company.
“Once completed, the Richland Parish Data Center will represent an investment of more than $10 billion in Louisiana and will support over 500 operational jobs,” the release reads. “We are also investing over $200 million in local infrastructure improvements. We anticipate that more than 5,000 construction workers will be onsite at peak construction, and we will make a concerted effort to source labor and materials locally, and provide substantial contributions directly to the community. Job opportunities for the data center will be on the Meta Careers page in a few weeks.”
Meta cited Richland Parish’s “great access to infrastructure, a reliable grid, a business-friendly climate, and wonderful community partners” as driving factors in the company’s decision to choose the community as the location for its new data center campus.
Located in northeast Louisiana and founded in 1868, the 576-square-mile, rural farming community is known for its network of rivers, creeks and bayous.
“We’re thrilled to be a new member of the Richland Parish community and are committed to investing in its long-term vitality,” Meta stated in its press release.
Meta stated that, once the data center is operational, it intends to launch its Community Action Grants program to provide local organizations and schools with “the power of technology to use for community benefit and improve STEAM education.” Additional services the company is promising to bring to Richland Parish include programs like no-cost digital skills training, intended to help local small businesses and nonprofits across Louisiana grow their reach.
Additionally, Meta has committed to contributing $1 million annually to local energy company Entergy’s customer assistance program, which provides bill payment assistance to low-income seniors and customers with disabilities.
Meta says they have “worked closely with Energy from the beginning to plan for our energy needs.” To that end, the company says they are adding enough clean and renewable energy to the grid to cover 100% of the electricity use of the new data center.
“…We will bring at least 1,500 megawatts of new renewable energy to the grid,” the press release reads.
Explaining the Data Center Construction Boom
The ongoing surge in data center construction in the U.S. can be traced back to the COVID-19 pandemic, which drove up the use of online shopping and subsequently led to companies like Amazon and Walmart to significantly expand their data processing capabilities.
As of March 2024, there were 5,381 data centers operating in the United States – by far the most data centers in any country in the world.
GPRS delivers a comprehensive array of services for subsurface damage prevention, existing condition documentation, and management of construction and facility projects, ensuring that initiatives like data center builds remain on schedule, within budget, and safe.
Our offerings in concrete scanning, utility locating, video pipe inspection, and leak detection help prevent subsurface damage during excavation, or when drilling or slicing through concrete. Leveraging cutting-edge tools like ground penetrating radar (GPR), electromagnetic (EM) locating, and remote-operated sewer pipe inspection rovers, our SIM and NASSCO-certified Project Managers (PMs) equip you with an in-depth view of your site’s subsurface structures.
For a clear depiction of above-ground conditions and to document our PMs’ findings in utility locating and concrete scanning, our 3D laser scanning and photogrammetry services deliver 2-4 mm-accurate data useful for both project design and future operation and maintenance (O&M) tasks. And our in-house Mapping & Modeling Department can tailor this data into any required format and software.
With SiteMap® (patent pending), GPRS’s cloud-based application for project and facility management, you have around-the-clock access to all this field-verified data, enhancing the protection of your assets and personnel.
SiteMap® enables seamless collaboration, allowing you and your team to securely access and share crucial data anytime and from anywhere, using any computer, tablet, or mobile device.
GPRS’ SiteMap® team members are currently scheduling live SiteMap® demos. Click below to schedule yours and see how SiteMap® can help you plan, design, manage, dig, and build better today!
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the Benefits of Underground Utility Mapping?
Having an updated and accurate map of your subsurface infrastructure reduces accidents, budget overruns, change orders, and project downtime caused by dangerous and costly subsurface damage.
How does SiteMap® assist with Utility Mapping?
SiteMap®, powered by GPRS, is the industry-leading infrastructure management program. It is a single source of truth, housing the 99.8%+ accurate utility locating, concrete scanning, video pipe inspection, leak detection, and 3D laser scanning data our Project Managers collect on your job site. And the best part is you get a complimentary SiteMap® Personal Subscription when GPRS performs a utility locate for you.
Does SiteMap® Work with my Existing GIS Platform?
SiteMap® allows for exporting of data to SHP, GeoJSON, GeoPackage, and DXF directly from any user’s account that either owns or has a job shared to their account. All these file formats can be imported and utilized by other GIS packages if manually imported by the user. More information can be found at SiteMap.com.
