Mississippi Power, Compass Datacenters sign 'megadeal' agreement for new campus in Meridian

Mississippi Power signed a nearly 500 MW, long-term agreement with Compass Datacenters to locate its next hyperscale data center campus in Meridian, a project set to be one of the largest developments of its kind across the Southeast.

“Mississippi Power has been an integral part of the economic development effort to bring more jobs and industries to our state for nearly a century,” said Mississippi Power President and CEO Anthony Wilson. “Mississippi Power has the generating power to support a growing Mississippi while maintaining reliable service for our customers. Our company is proud to be a part of the strategic team that delivered this significant investment to East Mississippi.”

The company recruited the Dallas-based, multinational data center developer to build its first campus in the region. Located at the I-20/59 Industrial Park, the campus will consist of eight data centers which will be constructed over an eight-year period. The site will represent a corporate investment of $10 billion, including future tenants’ information technology equipment and the creation of thousands of direct and indirect jobs in Lauderdale County.

“This $10 billion megadeal is huge for Lauderdale County and the entire state as we continue an impressive economic development streak that is unprecedented in Mississippi. Through our pro-business policies and favorable business environment, we continue to establish our state as an ideal location for high-tech developments by providing the resources needed for innovation and growth,” said Governor Tate Reeves. “I thank the Compass Datacenters team for its well-placed confidence in our people and in our business climate, which will provide ample opportunities for the company and the residents of Meridian and Lauderdale County now and for generations to come.”

The company’s Economic Development team led a group of partners, including the City of Meridian, Lauderdale County, Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) and East Mississippi Business Development Corporation (EMBDC), to recruit the industry to the site-ready area.

“Since meeting the Compass Datacenter folks in February 2024, it has been one exciting experience. First, we need to thank Mississippi Power for bringing Compass to us,” said EMBDC President Bill Hannah. “Mississippi Power’s investment in a substation for the I-20/59 Industrial Park, along with Lauderdale County’s ability to work with the Mississippi Legislature for a $4 million site grant, an additional MDA site grant and the city of Meridian’s water/sewer investment years ago, truly made this site a speed to market option for Compass. Thank you, Compass Datacenters, for selecting Meridian, Lauderdale County for your Mississippi campus.”

Compass Datacenters builds single-tenant, hyperscale data center campuses. The large-scale campuses built by Compass are designed to last for more than 100 years and create economies of scale to support local businesses and jobs. Compass currently has 11 campuses in North America and two in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Data centers are a new type of utility, as critical to our day-to-day lives as power and water. These large-scale buildings house and power numerous computer servers, which run the applications and services made possible online including business applications, online shopping, entertainment streaming, email services, digital file storage and more. 

Mississippi Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO), produces safe, reliable and affordable energy for more than 192,000 customers in 23 southeast Mississippi counties. The company has been recognized with the Community Partner Impact Award from the Center for Energy Workforce Development for its innovative and ongoing efforts to build a diverse workforce. For outstanding storm response, the company was honored with by the Edison Electric Institute with an Emergency Response Award.

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