Meta has a $10 billion data center campus near El Paso, Texas in the works, with 1 gigawatt of power capacity. The project, internally code-named “Seafox,” directly supports Meta’s AI infrastructure buildout following the recent launch of their Muse Spark AI model.

The Players

Meta is the sole announced party according to the filing. No utility partner, power provider, or construction partner has been publicly disclosed yet. The location near El Paso puts the project in ERCOT territory, likely within El Paso Electric’s service area, though behind-the-meter generation or direct ERCOT market participation are both possible.

The Numbers

  • Total Investment: $10 billion
  • Power Capacity: 1 gigawatt (1,000 MW)
  • Timeline: Not disclosed
  • Location: Near El Paso, Texas (ERCOT West)

At 1 GW, this is among the largest single-campus announcements by capacity. For comparison, Microsoft’s recent Virginia campus clusters total similar capacity but across multiple sites. The $10B price tag suggests full vertical integration — land, buildings, power infrastructure, cooling, and IT equipment.

So What?

This is a market-shaping announcement for three reasons:

First, site selection is now power-first. Meta chose El Paso for grid access and generation proximity, not labor markets or fiber. West Texas offers abundant wind and solar, but 1 GW of AI load requires firm, dispatchable power. That means either long-term PPAs with gas-fired generation or on-site natural gas turbines with grid backup.

Second, the capital commitment signals urgency. $10B is not a speculative land bank — it’s a shovel-ready project. Meta is moving faster than utility planning cycles, which creates opportunity for independent power producers who can deliver capacity on 18-24 month timelines.

Third, ERCOT is becoming the hyperscaler market of choice. No integrated resource planning, no multi-year rate cases, and direct market access. Developers with interconnection queue positions in ERCOT West should be modeling this load into their offtake assumptions.

What to Do With This

If you’re a power developer: Model dispatchable generation projects within 50 miles of El Paso. Meta will need backup power and potentially on-site generation. Gas turbine suppliers should be in conversation now.

If you’re an investor: Watch for Meta’s power procurement strategy. If they go the PPA route, it will set pricing benchmarks for AI-driven load in ERCOT.

If you’re a utility or transmission operator: This is 1 GW of new load that wasn’t in your forecast six months ago. Transmission upgrades and substation capacity in ERCOT West just became critical path.

Source: The Real Deal, April 21, 2026