Meet Prometheus: World’s highest capacity data center slated to open in Ohio in 2026

NEW ALBANY, Ohio (WCMH) — Meta expects to open the world’s first one-gigawatt data center in central Ohio.

A Meta spokesperson confirmed Prometheus, a data center with novel capacities, is underway at Meta’s New Albany data center campus. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Prometheus, planned for 1500 Beech Road, will come online in 2026. He expects it to be the world’s first gigawatt-capable data center. See previous coverage of Meta in New Albany in the video player above.

Prometheus will be a supercluster, a type of data center known for its massive size and capacity. These centers are able to power next-generation AI infrastructure, and have a higher capacity than any data center currently built, although companies like OpenAI and Google are also planning gigawatt-capable centers. Zuckerburg said Meta is investing billions in AI superclusters.

In a statement, New Albany called Meta’s investment a “vote of confidence” in New Albany’s business-friendly initiatives. A spokesperson for Meta confirmed New Albany’s business initiatives helped them choose the city for this project. Meta also said it chose New Albany for its first gigawatt-capable site because of its access to infrastructure and reliable grid.

“We value Meta as a partner for its support of the area’s schools, nonprofits, and workforce development, and we look forward to working together on opportunities that benefit our residents and region,” New Albany said in a statement.

Data centers are connected to spiking local utility costs due to their high demand for electricity and water. Carbon Collective estimates one gigawatt — 1,000 megawatts — could power approximately 876,000 households for a year.

Meta hopes to power the center itself instead of relying on local infrastructure, planning an on-site power generation facility to support Prometheus. However, the proposed plant will only generate 200 megawatts, and Meta did not address questions from Nexstar’s WCMH regarding the effect on local infrastructure.

According to state permit filings, the project plans to use five rapid deployment structures to encompass Prometheus, or large tent-like facilities. Zukerburg said weatherproof tents allow Meta to build more quickly. Filings show Prometheus will include a large building pad to support multiple data center structures, connected via a 300-foot-wide utility corridor and a 20-acre power generation yard. 

Prometheus’ sister supercluster, Hyperion, will have up to five gigawatts capacity and is under construction in Louisiana. Hyperion will take up the same land area as much of Manhattan, and will be the largest data center in the Western Hemisphere.