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FILE-In this photo illustration, a woman holds a smartphone with the Facebook logo displayed on the screen with the Meta Platforms logo displayed in the background. (Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

EL PASO, Texas – Social media giant Meta announced their plans Wednesday to increase their Texas spending by $1.5 billion to construct a new AI data center. 

The center, set to be built in El Paso, will support about 100 new jobs, the corporation said in their release. 

New Texas Meta center

What we know:

The company’s 29th data center will be capable of scaling to 1GW, and is planned to help Meta deliver top-tier AI models as they “build toward superintelligence.” 

The center will be their third in Texas. 

What we don’t know:

The company’s release does not give an exact location in the city for the construction site. 

Start and end dates for the project are not included in the release. 

Benefit to El Paso

Local perspective:

The $1.5 billion facility is set to support around 100 operational jobs, the release says, as well as stimulating the construction industry in El Paso. They anticipate 1,800 construction workers being onsite at peak for an initial phase of the project.

In addition, they plan to support the El Paso area with their Community Accelerator program, which they say builds digital skills and shows how to leverage AI tools, including Meta AI, to help them grow their businesses.

While data centers are notoriously “water expensive,” Meta says this center aims to restore 200 percent of the water it consumes to local watersheds. The closed-loop, liquid-cooled system in the new center is set to use zero water for the majority of the year.

Meta investments in Texas

Big picture view:

The new center increases Meta’s investment in the state to $10 billion in total. They say in their release that over 2,500 full-time employees are working across the state in various positions. 

The company announced in January that they would move their content reviewers and policy writers from California to Texas. That move came as Meta announced an end to independent fact-checking program and a move to a community notes-style system like social media platform X.

The Source: Information in this article came from Meta. 

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