Meta is making a major investment of $1.5 billion to build a new AI-optimized data center in El Paso, Texas. This would be the company"s 29th data center globally and the third one in Texas. The facility is designed to scale up to a 1GW (gigawatt) capacity, which is enough electrical power to run a city the size of San Francisco for a day.
The data center is planned to become operational by 2028. It will primarily support growing artificial intelligence workloads, featuring infrastructure that can handle both current traditional servers and future AI-enabled hardware. It is located on a 1,000-acre site near the Texas-New Mexico border, while the construction phase is expected to generate around 1,800 jobs onsite, and the completed facility will sustain approximately 100 permanent jobs.
Meta says that it chose El Paso to build its data center due to its robust electrical grid and skilled labor force. The data center will also boost the local economy, as the Palo Alto company has planned additional programs like the Community Accelerator, helping local businesses leverage AI tools, and Community Action Grants planned for the area.
Meta also says that environmental sustainability is a priority for all of its data centers, including this project. The El Paso facility will use a closed-loop, liquid-cooling system designed to use zero water for most of the year. Meta also added that it has committed to being water positive by 2030, promising to restore 200% of the water the data center consumes back to the local watersheds.
Meta says that it will match the data center"s energy consumption with 100% clean and renewable energy. The company has already invested over $10 billion in Texas with more than 2,500 employees statewide across data centers, offices, and research labs. The buildings, including this data center, are planned to achieve LEED Gold certification for energy efficiency, water conservation, and sustainable building practices.