DATA CENTERS THREATEN EL PASO
WHAT’S THE SOLUTION? ORGANIZE
These are pictures from Data Center Information Sessions in February that Amanecer has organized across the city as part of our campaign against data centers. El Pasoans are angry, confused and frustrated about billionaire tech companies targeting our desert region for their water-wasting, air polluting projects.
What is a data center?
Data centers are warehouse like buildings with equipment that stores digital data for computer processing. Tech companies are dramatically increasing these kind of projects because of the race for AI and cryptocurrency. The Trump administration has unleashed unlimited money to support the boom of this development. So far these data center projects have been proposed in the El Paso region:
Project Jupiter Data Center. Project Size: 1400 acre campus. Estimated electricity demand: 1.2 gigawatts. Site location: Santa Teresa, NM. Backers: Oracle, Open AI
Meta Data Center. Project Size: 1000 acres. Estimated electricity demand: 1 gigawatt. Site location: Northeast El Paso. Backers: Meta shell company Wurlwide LLC.
How much do data centers pollute?
The root of the problem is how much electricity AI data centers require. Why do they require so much electricity? Data servers are constantly running. 24/7 operation. Their electricity demand is NOT comparable to any other industry. Let’s take Meta for example. Meta is expected to require 200 MW of continuous power in its first phase, scaling up to 1 GW at full capacity. A 200 MW load operating continuously equates to 4,800 MWh of electricity per day. What can be powered by 4,800 MWh per day? 89,219 homes (4,800 MWh/0.0538 MWh) 837.7 schools (4,800 MWh/5.73 MWh)
The following graph presents data of projected carbon dioxide emissions of both Project Jupiter and Meta compared to overall air emissions in the region. Project Jupiter’s calculations come from their own air emission permits. We calculated Meta’s emissions by assuming their gas plant has a similar emission rate as Jupiter’s gas plants. This is the harrowing reality:
Meta’s Data Center scaling up 1 GW threatens to pollute more carbon dioxide emissions than all of El Paso Electric’s existing three gas plants—Montana Vista (Far East), Newman (Northeast), Sunland Park (West)—combined.
Meta’s Data Center scaling up 1 GW threatens to pollute more carbon dioxide emissions than all of El Paso’s total carbon dioxide emissions, combined. This includes the three gas plants, the refinery, all cars, trucks, and industrial semis.
This video is from Sharon Wilson, certified thermographer at environmental watchdog group Oilfield Witness. This Optical Gas Imaging (OGI) technology visualize emissions from an existing data center in Memphis Tennessee operated by Elon Musk’s xAI.
Emissions include methane and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). The full video is linked here.
Why do they use so much water?
Data centers use an intensive amount of water to operate. Water is used for: 1. preventing servers from overheating, 2. production of electricity via natural gas, 3. the fracking process for the sourcing of gas used to power electricity uses millions of gallons of water.
Project Jupiter is estimated to use 10 million gallons initially. Minimum 20,000 gallons per day, 7.2 million gallons per year.
Meta Project is protected to use between 750,000 and 1.5 million gallons per day.
The following graph puts these numbers into perspective. This demonstrates that Meta—one project—would use more water than Ysleta Independent School District, or El Paso Independent School District.
TAKE ACTION NOW
We are organizing a Town Hall March 7th @11am where our community can share concerns and ask important questions to government officials and local decision-makers.
