Amazon to spend $12 billion in Louisiana on AI data centers

Amazon said Monday it plans to spend $12 billion on new data center campuses in Louisiana and the infrastructure to power artificial intelligence and cloud computing.

The campuses will be built in the Caddo and Bossier Parishes, in northwestern Louisiana. Amazon said it expects to create 540 full-time jobs at the data centers and support about 1,700 other roles that will serve the sites, such as electricians, HVAC technicians and security specialists.

Amazon announced earlier this month that it expects to invest $200 billion in capital expenditures this year, more than any of the other hyperscalers, which combined have forecast nearly $700 billion in 2026 expenditures.

Wall Street has viewed Amazon’s capex plans skeptically, as shares sank for nine days straight following its Feb. 5 earnings report. The slide shaved more than $450 billion off its market value.

Most of Amazon’s spending is expected to go to AI-related initiatives, including data centers, chips and networking equipment.

Tech companies are racing to expand their data center footprints to meet the needs of companies that want to run AI models.

Amazon, Microsoft and Google have all invested hundreds of billions of dollars to build mammoth data centers. Meta also picked Louisiana to be the site of its massive Hyperion data center, in a joint venture worth $27 billion with Blue Owl Capital.

The rapid buildout of AI data centers by tech companies has also been met with some pushback in local communities where the facilities are based. Residents have argued that data centers can be a drain on electricity and water resources, and negatively impact the quality of life.

Microsoft last year walked away from a planned site in rural Wisconsin after residents raised environmental and financial concerns.

Amazon said it worked with the local utility, Southwestern Electric Power Company, “to ensure we pay 100% of the costs” associated with the campus, including expenses around new and upgraded energy infrastructure.

It will also look to cool the data centers with natural air when possible in order to reduce electricity demand.

The company said the Louisiana facilities will use only surplus water from the surrounding area, so there is “no strain on local water supplies.” Amazon plans to invest up to $400 million in public water infrastructure to support the site.

Amazon said it’s partnering with data center developer Stack Infrastructure on the project.

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