Fort Bliss 3-Gigawatt Data Center Proposed

The United States is proposing a massive 3-gigawatt data center complex on Fort Bliss property, which would consume more electricity than all of El Paso Electric's current customers combined by 2029. This project, part of a national initiative under President Donald Trump's administration to boost artificial intelligence for the Department of Defense, is being developed in partnership with The Carlyle Group. The Fort Bliss data center would be the third major facility in the El Paso region, alongside Meta Platforms's $10 billion facility and Oracle Corporation and OpenAI's $165 billion Project Jupiter campus. While the project aims for an initial operating capacity of 100 megawatts by next year and full operation by late 2027, questions remain regarding its power source (likely natural gas turbines), water usage, and environmental impact. The United States emphasizes the strategic importance of these capabilities for modern warfare and aims for the facility to be 'water neutral,' potentially involving the Kay Bailey Hutchison Desalination Plant. The project's tax implications are also uncertain, depending on the ownership structure of the buildings on leased federal land. The United States is also pursuing similar projects at other bases, and the United States is soliciting proposals for AI data centers, indicating a broader military push for AI infrastructure.