Meta boosts investment in West Texas AI data center by over sixfold to $10 billion

Meta has dramatically raised its investment in a new AI data center located in West Texas, committing over $10 billion—more than a sixfold increase. This ambitious project aims to achieve a capacity of 1 gigawatt by the time the facility opens its doors in 2028. The El Paso data center is expected to create approximately 300 permanent jobs, while more than 4,000 construction workers will be needed at its peak. In addition, Meta plans to contribute over 5,000 megawatts of clean energy to the local grid and is working with specialized nonprofits to address water supply issues in the region. Meta expressed its commitment to the El Paso community in a blog post, stating, "We have been proud to call El Paso home since breaking ground last year and are dedicated to being a good neighbor." Initially, the company had projected a $1.5 billion investment when construction began at the 1.2-million-square-foot site in October. Gary Demasi, Meta’s vice president of data center development, made the announcement during the annual Borderplex Alliance summit in El Paso. As demand for computing resources continues to surge, especially in AI infrastructure, Meta is significantly increasing its expenditure. The company noted in its January earnings report that capital expenditures for the year could reach up to $135 billion. Unlike its competitors, such as Google, Amazon, and Microsoft, Meta does not operate a cloud infrastructure business, leading to heightened scrutiny from Wall Street amid a 16% drop in its stock price this year, including a notable 7% decline on Thursday after facing legal setbacks. In light of these challenges, Meta has been streamlining its operations and is preparing for significant layoffs across various divisions, including Facebook and its virtual reality branch. Despite these cutbacks, the expansion of the data center continues. Currently, Meta operates 30 data centers, with 26 of them situated in the U.S., and the El Paso facility will be its third in Texas. The company is also investing heavily in advanced chips and systems for these new centers. In February, Meta entered into substantial agreements with Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices, and this week, it became the first customer for Arm's latest data center processor. Furthermore, Meta recently unveiled four new versions of its proprietary MTIA accelerators, first introduced to the public in 2023. As AI data centers proliferate across the nation, they have faced opposition from local residents, primarily due to concerns about water resources and rising electricity costs. In 2018, a similar project in Georgia led to water shortages for some residents. In response to potential water issues in Texas, Meta is currently collaborating on eight water restoration initiatives, including a partnership with the nonprofit DigDeep to provide clean drinking water to over 100 homes. The new data center will utilize a closed-loop liquid-cooling system designed to recycle water, with projected usage comparable to that of a typical local golf course.