Meta boosts Texas AI data center investment to $10b

Meta has raised its planned investment for an AI data center in El Paso, West Texas, to US$10 billion from US$1.5 billion, and is targeting 1 gigawatt of capacity when the site opens in 2028.

The company said the facility will create about 300 new jobs and require more than 4,000 construction workers at peak.

It will support adding over 5,000 megawatts of clean power to the grid and use a closed-loop liquid cooling system, while backing eight water projects in Texas, including work with nonprofit DigDeep.

Meta has 30 data centers, including sites in development, and the El Paso project would be its third in Texas.

🔗 Source: CNBC

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Meta’s ‘clean energy’ commitments collide with plans for a new natural gas plant

Meta has said the El Paso data center’s electricity use will be matched with 100% clean, renewable energy, yet filings say El Paso Electric (the local power utility) wants approval for a 366-megawatt natural gas facility called McCloud that links to the site 1.
El Paso Electric says the customer asked for and will pay for gas-fired generation because it is the quickest option for a large power need on a tight schedule; filings add the unit would connect only to Meta’s data center for five years, with Meta covering all costs during that window 1.
The proposal has drawn local pushback. The Texas Tribune reported earlier talks focused on renewable supply, while the city incentive deal says Meta was exploring alternative energy sources but “shall not be obligated to pursue” them 1.
Public incentives also back the project. El Paso Matters reported an 80% abatement on city property taxes that runs for 35 years 2.

The AI arms race is raising infrastructure bills and fueling local fights

Meta lifted investment more than sixfold to above $10 billion, a sign of the spending needed to stay competitive in AI even without a cloud infrastructure business (selling cloud computing services) 3.
At the same time, Meta is trimming expenses elsewhere. The company told CNBC that hundreds of layoffs are coming across recruiting, sales, global operations, plus its virtual reality division 3.
El Paso criticism of the gas plan, along with worries about water and power costs, echoes a wider pattern of community resistance to data centers 1, 3.
Growing public attention plus regulator pressure may add cost and stretch timelines for future AI buildouts 4, 2.