Meta has opened a $1.2 billion hyperscale data center in Temple, adding another major load to Texas’ grid and water system already under scrutiny. Meta describes the campus as “part of our global infrastructure that brings Meta technologies and programs to life.”
Meta says its second operational data center in Texas will employ roughly 100 full-time workers and will reportedly require “less than the annual water use of a typical golf course.” According to the Austin American-Statesman, a Texas golf course uses about 120 million to 140 million gallons annually, enough to support as many as 2,700 homes per year.
“Our goal is to be water positive in 2030, where we’ll restore more water than we consume in the watersheds in which we operate,” Meta said in a statement.
Meta claims its electricity use will be matched with “100% clean and renewable energy,” and says that it will add 9,000 megawatts to the Texas grid through more than 40 projects.
Brad Davis, the director of global data center economic development for Meta, reportedly declined to state exactly how much water and power the site would require.
“We’re not just investing in technology,” Davis claimed. “We’re investing in people. We’re investing in jobs, in long-term relationships and in being a reliable partner who listens to and shows up for our neighbors.”
The opening comes as Gov. Greg Abbott recently directed the Public Utility Commission of Texas and ERCOT to audit all data centers currently requesting grid interconnection before approving additional projects. Projects must be in compliance with regulations specified by Abbott and state regulators, or the projects will be denied grid interconnection.
Recent polling has indicated that Texans oppose the construction of a data center in their community, and Abbott has also directed PUCT and ERCOT to “ensure everyday Texans are not burdened with the costs of infrastructure driven by data center expansion, and … residential electric bills are not negatively affected.”
On Meta’s Temple Data Center Facebook page, the post announcing the grand opening is rife with comments expressing disdain for the project.
“You’re hiding all the comments that don’t want you here,” wrote one commenter.
Another wrote, “May everyone who participated in this forever feel the ‘ick’ of being on the wrong side of history.”
The Meta campus is one of three data center projects planned for the Temple area.
