EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — As the El Paso City Council considers future action related to Meta’s economic development agreements on Tuesday, the technology company is emphasizing its long-term investments, infrastructure commitments and environmental stewardship efforts tied to its expanding data center campus in the city.

KFOX14/CBS4 received documents from The Monument Group, an Austin-based public affairs firm working with Meta, such as a letter from Meta to the El Paso City Council and a letter from the mayor of the Village of Los Lunas to the mayor of El Paso.

In a June 9 letter to Mayor Renard Johnson and City Council members, Meta outlined what it described as a comprehensive set of commitments backed by agreements with the City of El Paso, El Paso County, El Paso Water, and El Paso Electric. The company said the project now represents more than $10 billion in planned investment and is expected to support more than 300 permanent operational jobs and more than 4,000 construction jobs at peak buildout.

READ THE FULL LETTER:

Meta first announced the El Paso data center project in 2025 and expanded the development earlier this year.

According to company materials, the facility is expected to become one of the largest data center campuses in Texas and will serve growing demand for artificial intelligence and digital services.

The company says it has already partnered with more than 130 local companies, vendors and suppliers and has invested millions of dollars in local road improvements and other infrastructure projects. Meta officials argue the project will generate significant new property tax revenue for local governments, schools, and public institutions because the land previously generated no property tax revenue while under city ownership.

Meta highlighted several workforce development initiatives already underway in El Paso, including a $500,000 grant supporting STEM education and skilled trades programs in local schools. The company is also partnering with Workforce Solutions Borderplex to provide access to free skilled-trades training through America’s Workforce Academy and plans to launch its Community Action Grants program in El Paso later this year.

Additional efforts include a partnership with Be Pro Be Proud, which introduces students to careers in skilled trades through hands-on mobile workshops, as well as digital-skills training programs designed to help local small businesses utilize artificial intelligence tools.

Water consumption has emerged as one of the most closely watched aspects of the project, particularly in the arid Borderland region.

Meta says the facility will use a closed-loop liquid cooling system designed to recirculate water and minimize consumption, with water use occurring primarily during the hottest periods of the year. The company also noted it has partnered with El Paso Water to use treated wastewater for certain construction activities.

To address community concerns, Meta has pledged to restore 200% of the water consumed by the data center through conservation and restoration projects in the Rio Grande watershed. Company documents state those projects are expected to restore more than 177 million gallons of water annually once fully implemented.

Among the initiatives are irrigation-efficiency projects for farmers in the El Paso region, micro-irrigation upgrades for pecan orchards in Texas and New Mexico, and partnerships with DigDeep to expand access to running water in underserved colonia communities along the U.S.-Mexico border. Meta has also contributed to El Paso Water’s AguaCares assistance program, which helps residents struggling to pay water bills.

Meta also defended the project’s impact on the region’s electrical grid, stating that agreements with El Paso Electric are structured so the company bears the costs associated with serving the data center.

According to company materials, Meta’s payments are expected to cover approximately $40 million annually in electricity-related costs that otherwise would have been borne by existing customers. Meta says it will also fund substantial grid infrastructure improvements, including substations, transmission upgrades and generation resources intended to improve overall system reliability.

The company further noted that it has matched 100% of its annual electricity use with renewable energy since 2020 and currently supports more than 5 gigawatts of renewable energy projects in Texas.

As city leaders evaluate the project, officials from another community hosting a Meta data center are weighing in.

RECOMMENDED: El Paso officials say canceling Meta data center agreement could cost taxpayers millions

In a separate letter to the El Paso City Council, Los Lunas, New Mexico, Mayor Charles Griego described Meta as a positive corporate partner that has invested more than $2.5 billion in his community over nearly a decade.

Griego wrote that Meta’s presence helped create hundreds of permanent jobs, generated new tax revenue, supported local infrastructure projects and provided more than $6 million to schools and nonprofit organizations through grants and sponsorships.

Griego also pointed to the company’s investments in renewable energy and water-efficient cooling technologies, saying Meta had honored its commitments to the Village of Los Lunas and contributed to broader economic growth in the area. He encouraged El Paso officials to visit the community and one of Meta’s operating facilities to see the impacts firsthand.

READ FULL LETTER:

The future of Meta’s El Paso campus remains closely tied to ongoing discussions among city leaders about economic development incentives, infrastructure requirements and long-term resource management.

Company representatives maintain that the project’s commitments are formalized through binding agreements and supported by measurable investments in jobs, education, water conservation and energy infrastructure.

City Council members are expected to continue reviewing the agreements and hearing public input as the project moves forward.

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