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Evidence ledger · under construction

Meta Lebanon: large promises, almost no outcomes due yet.

The public record supports a February 2026 groundbreaking and describes a 1 GW, multibillion-dollar, multiphase campus. It does not yet support operating jobs, measured power or water use, completed investment, or delivered phase payments.

Operator: MetaPlace: Lebanon / LEAP District, IndianaUp to six phases announcedLast verified: 10 September 2026
Not yet due

Current assessment

No operating outcome is graded as a failure. The headline investment, jobs, power and cooling figures are company or government-reported plans. IEDC describes a per-completed-phase city payment, but the underlying agreement and definition of phase completion have not been reviewed.

>$10Bplanned investmentCompany and state announcement
1 GWdesigned capacityNot measured or energized load
~300projected permanent jobsNo operating payroll yet
>4,000peak construction jobsProjection; not job-years
$1.5Mannual city payment per completed phaseIEDC summary; agreement not reviewed

Claim-to-outcome ledger

Announced

Investment

More than $10 billion across several phases.

Meta and IEDC describe planned investment. No completed or placed-in-service capital total is available because construction began in 2026.

Source: Meta announcement; IEDC release, project overview.
Projected

Jobs

About 300 operating positions; more than 4,000 construction jobs at peak.

These are prospective quantities with different units. They are not observed payroll, annual averages or job-years.

Source: Meta and IEDC announcements, workforce paragraphs.
Government-described

Community payment

$1.5 million annually to Lebanon for each completed phase, up to six phases.

The commitment is described by IEDC. V1 has not obtained the executed agreement, the definition of “completed phase,” the first due date or remedies for nonpayment. No payment is graded due.

Source locator: IEDC release, community impact paragraph.
Performance-based

State sales-tax exemption

35-year term with investment-linked extensions up to 50 years.

IEDC says the first 35 years require at least $1 billion of eligible investment within six years. Additional investment thresholds can extend the term. Taxes exempted or claimed have not been reconciled.

Source locator: IEDC release, incentive paragraph.
Design claim

Cooling and water

Closed-loop liquid cooling; zero water for cooling during most of the year.

This is not “zero water use.” Meta separately says it will restore 100% of water consumed and describes a 200-million-gallon-per-year conservation project for ten years. No operating consumption exists yet.

Source: Meta announcement, sustainability section. Company claims only.
Not verifiable

Ratepayer effect

Meta says it will pay the full cost of energy, water and wastewater service.

No reviewed utility contract or regulatory cost-allocation record establishes which generation, transmission, distribution or financing costs are assigned to Meta versus other customers.

Timeline

Groundbreaking announced

Meta and Indiana announced construction at the LEAP district. All operating outcomes remain prospective.

Payment trigger described, date unknown

IEDC says a $1.5 million annual city payment attaches to each completed phase. The agreement and trigger definition remain missing.

Cooling, power, jobs and taxes become testable

Metered use, payroll, exemption claims and local receipts should replace design projections when records exist.

Source packet

Neutral readingA favorable design claim is not yet a favorable outcome; an unfinished project is not yet a broken promise. This dossier should become more valuable after the first phase is completed, when payment, staffing, water and utility records can be tested against the baseline.