Inside Meta's 1 GW Sustainable AI Data Centre in El Paso

Meta has initiated construction on its latest AI-centric data centre in El Paso, Texas, with sustainability positioned as a fundamental component of the project's design and long-term operation.

The facility is designed to meet high standards for energy efficiency and water conservation while powering Meta's expanding AI workloads and advancing its development of superintelligence.

The El Paso data centre is slated to achieve LEED Gold certification.

This standard recognises excellence in green building strategies including energy efficiency, renewable power consumption, water conservation and waste reduction.

Water stewardship and renewable energy

Meta's focus on environmental performance is integrated with the facility's primary role as a central hub for its AI research and deployment.

“At Meta, we’re focused on building AI compute infrastructure that will fuel the future of personal superintelligence,” says Rachel Peterson, Vice President of Data Centers at Meta, writing on LinkedIn.

“To do this, we’re driving innovation, agility and flexibility across our data centre strategy – from building rapidly deployed “tent” structures at various data center sites to building complex, mulit-gigawatt sites like Hyperion in Richland Parish, Louisiana. 

“I’m excited to announce more momentum as we break ground on our next AI-optimised data centre in El Paso, Texas."

A key element of the data centre's sustainable design is its approach to water management.

Meta will implement a closed-loop, liquid-cooled system that is engineered to operate without consuming water for the majority of the year.

This directly addresses the significant water usage typically associated with large-scale data centres.

Furthermore, Meta is extending its commitment to water conservation beyond its operational footprint.

As part of a corporate goal to become water positive by 2030, Meta will restore 200% of the water the El Paso facility does consume to local watersheds.

To achieve this, Meta is partnering with DigDeep to help provide clean running water to nearby communities and collaborating with the Texas Water Action Collaborative on restoration projects across the region.

On the energy front, the El Paso site will match all its electricity consumption with 100% clean energy.

Through an agreement with El Paso Electric, Meta has also financed new grid infrastructure including substations and transmission lines to support the data centre's connection to the regional grid.

AI infrastructure and efficient design

While prioritising sustainability, the facility is also built for high-performance computing.

It is designed to scale up to 1GW of capacity and will support a wide range of hardware configurations, balancing the demands of current AI workloads with the flexibility needed for future systems.

The initial phase represents an investment of more than US$1.5bn.

“This will be a powerhouse data centre optimised to support our growing AI workloads and will be essential to bringing our technologies to life.

An example of industry-leading infrastructure, this data centre can scale to 1GW and represents an important moment as we invest in our AI work,” according to Meta's announcement.

The facility’s adaptable design allows for the housing of both traditional server systems and next-generation AI hardware.

This ensures the infrastructure can evolve alongside Meta's AI models and tools which power applications like live translation and AI-driven business analytics.

Community investment and local economy

The project is also set to deliver economic benefits to the El Paso area. Construction is expected to support approximately 1,800 jobs at its peak with the first phase creating around 100 permanent operational positions.

“We are excited to bring our next-generation, AI-optimised data centre to El Paso, right in the heart of the Borderplex region that embodies innovation, talent and opportunity," says Brad Davis, Director, Data Center Community & Economic Development at Meta.

"We chose El Paso as the home for our next data centre for a variety of reasons including strong talent, robust energy resources and great community partners.

"We’re grateful for the partnership across the community to date and we are excited to continue our partnership with El Paso for years to come."

Texas Governor Greg Abbott says, “Texas is the epicentre of innovation,"

"Meta’s US$1.5bn investment in El Paso further cements our great state as the nation’s leader in artificial intelligence and innovation while creating new, good-paying jobs for Texans."

Meta’s investment in Texas now exceeds US$10bn across its three data centres and other facilities.

Meta plans to introduce its Community Action Grants programme in El Paso next year to support local initiatives, demonstrating a focus on ensuring host communities benefit from the expansion of digital infrastructure.