"First announced in December of 2024, construction on Meta's new Hyperion data center is already well underway. With a price tag of $27 billion, the massive project has an expected computing capacity of five gigawatts, enough to power over a million US homes. Assuming the project's convoluted financial situation doesn't force Meta to adjust its plans, it will be the largest data center in the world when it comes online in 2030."
"Sure to be a noisy, resource-guzzling behemoth, the massive installation is already giving one Louisiana town less than a mile away a brutal preview of its final form. As reported by the Louisiana Illuminator, construction on Hyperion has contributed to a massive rise in traffic in the rural town of Holly Ridge. Each day, the local outlet reports, thousands of heavy construction rigs barrel up and down the town's once-quiet streets, contributing to a 600 percent increase in crashes."
"Compared to just nine auto accidents in all of 2024, local police have responded to 64 crashes between January and mid-September of 2025 alone. For students at Holly Ridge Elementary School, the construction traffic and its consequences have become a staple of everyday life. Over the summer, the school shut down a playground on its front lawn indefinitely, after three nearby crashes involving construction vehicles prompted safety concerns."
Construction began on Meta's $27 billion Hyperion data center after a December 2024 announcement, with expected capacity of five gigawatts and online plans for 2030. The installation sits under a mile from Holly Ridge, Louisiana, and daily heavy construction rigs have surged through town streets. Local police recorded a rise from nine accidents in 2024 to 64 crashes between January and mid-September 2025. School officials closed a playground after three nearby construction-vehicle crashes. Residents report near-miss incidents with large trucks and other dangerous encounters tied to the ongoing construction activity.
Read at Futurism
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