Meta named behind $10B Kentucky data center needing 2.2 GW of power
Mason County, Kentucky named Meta on 13 October as the developer of a planned 2.2 GW data center campus, with $10 billion to start and a 396 MW first building. Meta pays for about $566 million of new grid, but the stuck step is the dedicated power supply the state's tariff requires above 250 MW.
WIRE · HYPERSCALERS · US · Data as at 16 Oct 2026
Mason County, Kentucky named Meta on 13 October 2026 as the company behind a planned data center campus of up to 2.2 GW on about 2,900 acres outside Maysville. The fiscal court unanimously approved a bond deal, a development agreement and a roads agreement, with a first investment of $10 billion and a first building of 396 MW. Meta pays for the grid it needs, about $566 million of new lines and substations in the utility's own plan. On the hyperscalers layer, the stuck step is not the county any more. It is the power supply behind the wires.
What happened
13 October 2026 · Mason County Fiscal Court
Meta named as the developer; three agreements pass unanimously
Signed through a single-purpose company, Crisham LLC. The county buys the land and leases it to Meta, so no property tax; Meta makes payments in lieu
The campus
Up to six buildings, a 396 MW first phase, $10 billion to start
First-phase construction starts within 36 months of a signed agreement. Each later building takes about 24 months
The grid plan
Three new 345 kV substations and four new 345 kV lines, $566.35 million
Presented to PJM's planning committee in May 2025 by East Kentucky Power Cooperative for an unnamed customer. "All associated costs" are borne by the customer
The power rule
Above 250 MW, the data center needs its own dedicated power
Kentucky's regulator approved the co-op's data center tariff in October 2025. Every contract under it still needs the regulator's sign-off
Why cash cares
The money that moved this week is local. Meta committed about $115 million for water, sewer and roads and a $15 million public safety fee, and the county expects $5 million a year per phase in place of property tax. That is the same shape as the $20 million Digital Realty offered De Soto this morning. The bigger bill sits with the power company.
East Kentucky Power Cooperative, a non-profit that supplies 16 local co-ops, laid out the grid build for PJM's planning committee in May 2025. It runs in four phases: temporary 138 kV taps by December 2026, a first 345 kV substation by May 2027, a second by March 2028 and a third, fed by a new double-circuit line from Dayton Power & Light's Stuart station in Ohio, by September 2028. The same presentation gave the customer's requested load ramp: 110 MW by December 2026, 530 MW by February 2028, 850 MW by August 2028 and 2,200 MW by January 2031.
Our arithmetic, not a Meta or EKPC figure. The $566.35 million works out to about $257,000 per MW of planned load, roughly two-thirds of the $405,000 per MW the Energy Department's figure implies for SoftBank's Ohio campus. Add the local package and Meta's known up-front bill outside the buildings is about $696 million, or about 7% of the first $10 billion.
Figure: The wires have dates. The power does not yet. The requested load ramp and grid phases from EKPC's PJM presentation, set against the tariff's 250 MW line.
The second-order read
Who gets paid. EKPC and Dayton Power & Light, which build the lines, with Meta paying. Then the equipment makers: across the three substations the plan calls for eight 345/138 kV transformers, 28 breakers at 345 kV and 63 at 138 kV (our count from the plan). Large transformers are among the longest-lead items on any grid build.
Who carries the risk. Meta. Under the tariff it pays for the studies, posts a deposit equal to six months of its expected maximum bill and is billed weekly. The rule is written so the co-op's other members are not left paying if a data center leaves early. Compare the minimum-bill tariffs other utilities now ask for.
Who waits. Everything above 250 MW. A 396 MW first building already crosses that line, so the dedicated supply has to exist before the campus scales. EKPC says on its own site that a large new load "will need new resources" and that its planned plants are for existing members.
Stuck step. A named power supply and a three-way contract between Meta, the local co-op and EKPC, approved by the Kentucky Public Service Commission. Neither is in the public record we could find as of 16 October.
Two cautions
The ramp is from May 2025, before the county deal. The new agreement gives Meta up to 36 months to start the first phase, so the 530 MW by February 2028 date may already be stale. Treat the ramp as what was requested, not a build schedule.
The plant is not picked. PJM's queue shows a 780 MW EKPC gas project in Mason County with a December 2031 target, about 35% of 2.2 GW and later than the final ramp date (our arithmetic). Nothing public ties it to Meta.
What would change the view
- A special contract filed at the Kentucky Public Service Commission naming the dedicated supply, its size and its term.
- A gas turbine order, a long-term purchase from another plant, or a change to the 780 MW queue entry.
- The state economic development finance board's vote on incentives, which the county says the project depends on.
What to watch
- Land purchases, which the county summary says start in November.
- EKPC's next PJM planning filings for any change to the four phases or the $566 million estimate.
- Meta's third-quarter results, due later in October, for its capital spending guide and lease commitments.
Read: What does Meta do?, 6.8 GW short in PJM, and Data center leases explained
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Not investment advice. Do your own research. The per-MW cost, the comparison with Ohio, the up-front total and its share of $10 billion, the equipment counts and the 35% share are our arithmetic from the documents and reports below.
References
- PJM Transmission Expansion Advisory Committee, "EKPC Supplemental Projects," need EKPC-2025-001, 6 May 2025. Load ramp, four grid phases, in-service dates, the $566.35 million estimate and equipment.
- Kentucky Public Service Commission, "PSC Approved EKPC's New Data Center Tariff," Case No. 2025-00140, 28 Oct 2025. The 250 MW dedicated-power rule, deposit and weekly billing.
- Mason County Post, "Report: Meta announced as developer of Mason County Kentucky data center project", 13 Oct 2026. Meta named, $10 billion, $115 million and the $15 million fee.
- Mason County Post, "Mason County Fiscal Court presentation details proposed data center jobs, infrastructure and tax benefits", 8 Oct 2026. The 396 MW first phase, 36-month start, 2,900 acres and payments in lieu of tax.
- WEKU, "Meta is behind Mason County data center project. What did officials agree to?", 15 Oct 2026. The three agreements and the land-lease structure.
- East Kentucky Power Cooperative, "EKPC prepared for data centers", accessed 16 Oct 2026. New resources for a large load and the Maysville site near Spurlock Station.
- Interconnection.fyi, PJM queue entry C01-1227, accessed 16 Oct 2026. The 780 MW EKPC gas project in Mason County, queued 27 Apr 2026.
- Grant County News, "Meta enters agreement with Mason County for data center", 14 Oct 2026. Crisham LLC, the grid-cost commitment, EKPC's comments and the state incentive vote.
