Meta’s $1.5 billion el paso data center sparks controversy over natural gas power plant

What began as a celebration in El Paso has quickly turned into an environmental controversy. Local officials broke ground in October 2025 on Meta’s massive $1.5 billion data center project, a 1-gigawatt facility that promised to bring jobs and investment to the sun-drenched Texas border city. Initially, the tech giant appeared committed to clean energy, with plans to tap into new solar farms to power the facility in a region that enjoys over 300 days of sunshine annually.

However, the project has taken an unexpected turn that has environmental advocates and local residents alarmed. El Paso Electric is now seeking regulatory approval for a substantial 366-megawatt natural gas power plant specifically designed to fuel Meta’s data center operations. This represents a significant departure from the original clean energy narrative that accompanied the project’s announcement.

The proposed natural gas facility has sparked fierce opposition from El Paso residents who fear the environmental and public health consequences. Community members are particularly concerned about two critical issues: worsening air pollution in a region already struggling with air quality challenges, and the plant’s potential to consume vast amounts of water in an area where water scarcity is an ongoing concern.

The controversy highlights a broader tension in the tech industry between rapid expansion of energy-hungry data centers and corporate sustainability commitments. As artificial intelligence and cloud computing drive unprecedented demand for data processing power, communities are increasingly questioning whether the environmental costs of these facilities align with tech companies’ public climate pledges.