The U.S. Army has unveiled plans to construct a massive 3-gigawatt data center complex on Fort Bliss property, a development that could consume more electricity than the combined total used by all of El Paso Electric’s 460,000 customers. However, this ambitious project raises significant concerns regarding its impact on water usage and air quality, leaving many questions unanswered.
If realized, this would mark the third substantial data center initiative in the El Paso region, joining Meta Platforms’ $10 billion facility in Northeast El Paso and Oracle and OpenAI’s $165 billion Project Jupiter campus in Santa Teresa, New Mexico. Together, these projects could position the Borderland as a central hub for power generation and artificial intelligence infrastructure in the nation.
The Carlyle Group, a publicly-traded investment firm, is set to finance the construction and operation of the Fort Bliss data center. This initiative is part of a broader strategy initiated during President Donald Trump’s administration aimed at rapidly advancing artificial intelligence capabilities for the Department of Defense.
David Fitzgerald, the Army’s deputy undersecretary, shared that the initial target for operational capacity at Fort Bliss is approximately 100 megawatts by next year. An official estimate of the project’s total cost has yet to be disclosed.
By 2029, the data center is projected to need 3 gigawatts of electricity, exceeding the current 2.9 gigawatts of generation capacity maintained by El Paso Electric across its entire service area, which stretches from Hatch, New Mexico, to Van Horn, Texas. Notably, the highest demand recorded by the utility was just over 2.3 gigawatts during the summer of 2023.
Despite the project’s scale, the Army has not sought input from the local community regarding the rapid expansion of data center operations in the area. Fitzgerald emphasized the importance of identifying common interests with El Paso city leaders as they navigate the project.
“The state of modern warfare and future warfare will significantly depend on our ability to capture, process, and utilize vast amounts of data,” Fitzgerald stated, underscoring the strategic importance of the data center for both the Army and the broader Department of Defense.
Assistant Secretary of the Army Jeff Waksman indicated that combined-cycle natural gas turbines are the most probable source of electricity for the facility, which will undergo an environmental review before construction begins.
However, numerous unanswered questions linger regarding the proposed data center at Fort Bliss. It remains uncertain whether the facility will connect to El Paso Water’s system, as the city-owned utility noted that Fort Bliss has its own water service, although El Paso Water could provide backup support.
El Paso Electric has also expressed uncertainty regarding the data center’s connection to its power grid, with no formal service request made by the Army as of yet. Army officials confirmed that discussions about the power source and grid connectivity are still ongoing.
A representative from the Carlyle Group did not address inquiries about the proposed facility during a recent community meeting, and the firm has not responded to requests for comment.
Currently, there is no finalized agreement between the Army and Carlyle, which has been conditionally selected to enter exclusive negotiations. The Army aims to start operations by late 2027, which necessitates the commencement of construction in the near future.
Meeting a 3-gigawatt electricity demand primarily through natural gas-fired turbines could result in significant greenhouse gas emissions in a densely populated area like El Paso, contributing to air pollution concerns.
Even if the data center relies on water sourced from Fort Bliss-managed wells instead of El Paso Water, it would draw from the Hueco Bolson aquifer, the city’s primary water supply. The Army has flagged water risk for El Paso as “extremely high” and acknowledged public concerns regarding the center’s potential impact on local groundwater resources.
Fitzgerald assured that the Army intends for the facility to be “water neutral,” although details on how to offset water consumption remain vague. The possibility of utilizing the Kay Bailey Hutchison Desalination Plant for this purpose has been mentioned, but El Paso Water lacks specifics on how this would be implemented.
Regarding electricity generation, Army officials are still deliberating whether El Paso Electric will build a new power plant to meet the data center’s needs or if Carlyle Group or another private entity will construct an independent power source for the facility.
El Paso Electric is already planning a 366-megawatt power plant to serve Meta’s data center and anticipates further development to accommodate the 1-gigawatt demand from that facility. Meanwhile, Oracle’s Project Jupiter seeks to utilize 2.45 gigawatts from fuel cell power systems.
The combined anticipated demand from these projects could require up to 3.45 gigawatts, enough to power approximately a million homes, depending on various factors.
To comply with environmental regulations, the Fort Bliss project must also address utility and infrastructure needs, as outlined in a request for proposals issued by the Army. Officials have assured that the initiative will not adversely affect water or electric bills for El Paso residents.
The Carlyle Group, managing $477 billion in assets, invests across various industries, including infrastructure projects like data centers. The company aims to utilize the extensive, largely unused land at Fort Bliss, along with existing water and electricity infrastructure in El Paso, to advance this initiative.
In addition to the Fort Bliss facility, the Army is also developing a similar data center in Dugway, Utah, with other potential sites identified at Fort Hood in Texas and Fort Bragg in North Carolina. The U.S. Air Force is also exploring opportunities for AI data centers on various bases nationwide, propelled by executive orders aimed at expediting development timelines.
As for taxation, a privately financed data center at Fort Bliss may be subject to some taxes, although uncertainty remains regarding the specifics. While the land itself is not subject to state or local taxes, the structures housing the data center could be depending on the ownership arrangement.
Fitzgerald acknowledged the public’s concerns regarding other data centers, such as those by Meta and Project Jupiter. He expressed the Army’s commitment to ensuring that the Fort Bliss project is developed responsibly and collaboratively with the community.
“We believe there’s a path forward that can benefit not only the installation but also the community,” Fitzgerald stated, aiming to foster a cooperative approach amid potential opposition.
