Meta identified as developer behind nearly 3,000-acre Kentucky data center campus

Meta has been identified as the company behind a nearly 3,000-acre data center campus in Mason County, Kentucky. The identification came at an October 13 meeting of the Mason County Fiscal Court, where commissioners passed a community benefits agreement, according to the Ledger Independent's report covered by Data Center Dynamics on October 15.

Under the agreement, Meta is to invest $10 billion, with room for more in future phases, and to generate more than 4,000 construction jobs and 300 long-term roles once the campus is operational. Meta also committed $115 million to roads, water treatment plants and pipelines, and annual payments to the county in the millions of dollars for each development phase. In return, the county awarded a 40-year abatement of local property taxes. The report also cites $800bn in Industrial Revenue Bonds for the project.

The site has been public since November 2025, when an anonymous developer was evaluating 5,000 acres near Big Pond and Tuckahoe roads. In May, a 2,080-acre parcel there was rezoned for data center use, with documents suggesting six 718,740 sq ft (66,773 sqm) buildings and three substations. Power capacity has been reported as possibly reaching up to 2.2GW.

A petition against the project had 1,429 signatures at the time of the report. Meta's statement refers to "this potential project," says the company will pay the full cost of the power it uses, and lists schools, workforce training and local infrastructure among intended investments. The statement adds that Meta takes "seriously the diversity of opinions in the county" and intends to keep listening "not just during the approval process but in the long run." Mason County Judge Executive Owen McNeill said the agreement represents the work of many people who "envisioned a brighter future for Mason County," and called Meta "the pinnacle of technology companies."

If the campus reaches the 2.2GW that has been reported, electricity supply becomes the constraint on later phases and the county's per-phase payments. Hyperscalers explore sites before putting a name to them, as this publication noted in September when Google staked an option in Lea County. Apex Clean Energy and Meta entered a Texas solar PPA on October 1.