El Paso campus

Meta Platforms · El Paso, Texas

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The resource footprint

Modelled average

In one day, this campus would consume about

11.150-metre swimming pools

Filled with the volume of water consumed by the campus and its electricity supply.

The actual estimate7,342,662 US gallons consumed

50-metre pools · 2 metres deep

Each diagram = 1 pool. Partial shading shows the remainder.

At the campus293,706 galMaking its electricity7,048,956 gal

Power-plant water may come from a different watershed. This is a volume comparison, not a claim that households lose this water.

If announced plans are fully built · Not operating yet · Annual model spread evenly over time, not a live meter. Site estimates may differ by roughly ±40%.

Comparison sizes & sources

One pool = 50 × 25 × 2 metres = 2.5 million litres (about 660,430 US gallons). Pool depths vary; this is a defined comparison size.

One home-year = 10,791 kWh, the EIA’s 2022 average US residential electricity purchases. This excludes electricity generated at home and is a fixed US benchmark for all sites.

One car-year = 4.6 tonnes CO₂, the EPA’s typical passenger vehicle tailpipe estimate. The campus model is in CO₂e; the comparison expresses approximate climate scale, not equal mixtures of pollutants.

Monthly values are annual totals ÷ 12; daily values are annual totals ÷ 365. Actual demand varies. Comparisons cover the whole campus, including non-AI uses.

Water: see the numbers and sources

This is water used up, mainly through evaporation. Power-generation water may be used in a different watershed.

Total water use2,680M gal/yr

Evaporated on site107M gal

Making the power2,573M gal

Household comparison33,501homes, at 80,000 gal/year

Pressure on local water: Extremely High — a regional measure of demand compared with available water
Where the water comes from: Closed loop — negligible draw
Cooling: Air-cooled closed loop
Basis: Modelled from cooling design — WUE 0.05 L/kWh

Air: see the numbers and sources

The totals include nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide and fine particles. They cover both this site and the power plants supplying it.

Nitrogen oxides1,217t/yr

Sulphur dioxide893t/yr

Fine particulates138t PM2.5

Health (EPA)$123M/yr

Health range: $42.8–123 million a year. Lower bound is EASIUR national mid-range; upper is EPA benefit-per-ton at a ~$12M VSL.
Statistical deaths: 10.2 a year at that VSL — a national-average conversion from tons, not a local concentration study.
Equals: 1,521,776 cars of NOx
Where it burns: WECC Southwest — Ariz. / N.M.
Generation mix: Gas 46 · Nuclear 22 · Solar 14 · Coal 12
Diesel backup: Diesel backup is not yet counted for this campus, so on-site air figures are a floor.
CO₂e: 3,019 kt/yr — climate, not air quality

The project, approvals and community concerns

Who asked for it: Meta — self-build
Who approved it: City of El Paso and county incentives; El Paso Electric supply plus Meta-contracted solar
What it serves: Meta AI training and inference
IT capacity: 0 MW current capacity / 1,000 MW full-build scenario

Announced in 2025 with a commitment to match its electricity with new solar and to run essentially without evaporative cooling — the Chihuahuan desert leaves no other option.

water-stressed basin

Keep this guide handy

31.8500°, -106.3500°

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Quote or share these estimates

Gigawatt Ledger (2026). El Paso campus: water and air. https://gigawatt-ledger.pages.dev/site/elpaso/. Modelled from disclosed capacity; site-level error ±40%.

Include the estimate’s date, whether it describes current or proposed capacity, and its uncertainty. Get an embeddable card.

Gigawatt Ledger · September 2026. Water and air figures are estimated from public records and disclosed capacity. How we calculate them · Use this in your community.