El Paso’s plan to build natural gas power plant for massive data center kicks up opposition

El Paso officials celebrated the groundbreaking of a $1.5 billion data center for Meta in 2025. However, it was later revealed that El Paso Electric plans to build a 366-megawatt natural gas plant to power the data center, rather than using renewable energy as initially suggested. This has sparked opposition from local advocacy groups like the Sembrando Esperanza Coalition, who are concerned about the impact on electricity rates, air pollution, and the transition to renewable energy in the region. Additionally, El Paso is already facing challenges with water scarcity, and other data center projects in the area, such as Project Jupiter and a facility by Wiwynn Corp., will also be powered by natural gas.