Meta has started construction on a new AI-optimized data center in El Paso, Texas. This facility will be the company’s 29th data center and is designed to support Meta’s expanding artificial intelligence operations. The project is being developed in partnership with The Borderplex Alliance, an economic development agency representing El Paso.
The new data center is engineered to scale up to a 1-gigawatt capacity, allowing it to accommodate current and future demands for AI training and inference. According to Meta, the design of the facility incorporates flexibility so it can handle both traditional servers and next-generation AI hardware. The company stated, “This will be a powerhouse data center optimized to support our growing AI workloads and will be essential to bringing our technologies to life.”
Meta highlighted that its data centers are critical infrastructure for products such as smart glasses, AI assistants, live translation services, and video editing tools. The company emphasized its commitment to supporting local communities, stating, “El Paso is a vibrant city with robust infrastructure and a skilled workforce, and we’re thrilled to contribute to El Paso’s economic growth and technological advancement with the construction of our newest data center.”
The initial phase of the project represents an investment of more than $1.5 billion. Once operational, it is expected to create about 100 jobs for ongoing operations and employ over 1,800 construction workers at peak times during this phase. Meta is also launching its Community Accelerator program in El Paso to help local small businesses build digital skills and use AI tools like Meta AI. Additionally, Community Action Grants will be introduced in the area next year.
This marks Meta’s third data center in Texas. Across its Texas facilities, Meta has invested over $10 billion and employs more than 2,500 full-time staff in various roles.
Meta has committed to environmental sustainability for its new site. The buildings are designed to achieve LEED Gold certification, which reflects high standards in energy efficiency, renewable energy use, water conservation, responsible supply chains, and recycling. For water management, Meta plans to use a closed-loop liquid cooling system that requires no water for most of the year. The company aims to restore twice as much water as its El Paso facility consumes by 2030 through partnerships with organizations such as DigDeep and Texas Water Action Collaborative.
Electricity for the new data center will be matched with 100% clean and renewable energy. Meta has also funded new grid infrastructure through an agreement with El Paso Electric, including new transmission lines and substations.
“We’re thrilled to break ground on this new data center and look forward to continuing to build the infrastructure needed to develop AI,” Meta said in its announcement.