Data Center Census

El Paso, El Paso County, TX

Meta El Paso Data Center

Under constructionMeta says capacity begins coming online in 2028; BlackRock-managed funds to hold 80% under July 2026 venture
  1. Rumored
  2. Proposed
  3. Approved
  4. Under construction
  5. Operating

Meta is building a 1 GW AI data center on about 1,000 acres in Northeast El Paso, north of Stan Roberts Sr. Avenue and west of US 54. The stated investment rose from $1.5 billion in 2025 to more than $10 billion in March 2026, and a July 2026 venture put total development costs at about $14 billion. El Paso Electric has proposed a dedicated 366 MW gas plant (McCloud) next to the site, which environmental justice groups and residents oppose.

Key facts

Size & schedule

Planned capacity1 GW [6]
1 GW of compute capacity
Site size1,000 acres [1]
Floor area1.2 million sq ft [2]
nearly 1.2 million sq ft, per October 2025 announcement
Stated investment$14 billion [6]
approx. total development cost under Meta-BlackRock venture; earlier stated as $1.5B (2025) and >$10B (Mar 2026)
Permanent jobs (promised)300 [6]
city incentive requires at least 50
Construction jobs4,000 workers [6]
peak; 2,300+ onsite as of July 2026
Target completionCapacity starts coming online in 2028; McCloud plant expected in 2027 [6]

Power

UtilityEl Paso Electric [3]
Power supplyEl Paso Electric's proposed 366 MW McCloud gas plant ($473M, 813 Enchanted Rock modular generators) on 31 adjacent acres, dedicated to the data center [3]
Utility commission casePUCT Docket 59076 (El Paso Electric McCloud Generation) [7]
Source excerpt
“El Paso Electric McCloud Generation (Docket 59076): PUC Staff submitted direct testimony and engineering analysis on the 366 MW natural gas facility for data center service”

Water

Water use2,500,000 gal/day [1]
maximum at full build-out; tiers at 100,000, 750,000 and 1.5M gpd average

Money & incentives

Tax incentivesChapter 380 agreement: 80% city property tax rebate, ~$110M for Phase 1 (15 yrs), up to $550M across all phases (35 yrs) [1]

Local decisions & site

ZoningUse permitted by right under existing zoning [1]
Source excerpt
“The use is permitted by right. The property is zoned appropriately and is subject to meeting all zoning requirements.”

Figures are as stated by the cited source. Where sources disagree, each figure is shown.

Timeline

  1. El Paso City Council approves incentive agreements [1]

  2. Meta announces El Paso data center, >$1.5B [2]

  3. El Paso Electric proposes $473M McCloud gas plant to serve the data center [3]

  4. Meta raises stated investment to more than $10B [5]

  5. El Paso City Council votes 5-3 against beginning negotiations to end the Meta incentive agreement [8]

  6. State Office of Administrative Hearings begins testimony on El Paso Electric's proposed McCloud Generation Facility [9]

  7. Meta announces venture with BlackRock (80% BlackRock funds / 20% Meta), ~$14B total cost [6]

Issues raised

  • Environmental justice groups and residents raise concerns about air pollution in an ozone-burdened city, water scarcity and utility rates [4]
  • Residents say they were earlier told the site would use solar, not fossil fuels [4]

Sources

  1. Data Centers
    City of El Paso · government
  2. Hello, El Paso!
    Meta Data Centers · Oct 15, 2025 · company
  3. El Paso Electric proposes $473 million gas plant to power Meta data center operations
    KVIA (El Paso Matters) · Jan 18, 2026 · news
  4. El Paso's plan to build natural gas power plant for massive data center kicks up opposition
    Texas Tribune (Inside Climate News) · Jan 26, 2026 · news
  5. Big things are happening, El Paso!
    Meta Data Centers · Mar 26, 2026 · company
  6. Meta Announces New Strategic Venture with BlackRock to Develop Data Center in El Paso
    Meta Investor Relations · Jul 28, 2026 · company
  7. DocketWatcher — PUCT Weekly Briefing
    DocketWatcher (Substack) · Jun 22, 2026 · other
  8. El Paso city council votes to keep Meta data center incentive agreement
    KFOX14 · Jun 9, 2026 · news
  9. Key hearing begins on El Paso Electric gas plant proposal for Meta data center
    CBS4 / KFOX14 · Jul 8, 2026 · news