Fort Bliss Army data center (Enhanced Use Lease)

Carlyle (conditionally selected); U.S. Army; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (lease negotiations, environmental review)

Status: Proposed (Army conditional selection; lease not final)
Developer / parties: Carlyle (conditionally selected); U.S. Army; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (lease negotiations, environmental review)
Location: Far East El Paso (Fort Bliss), El Paso County
Size: About 1,384 acres (Army); initial ~100 MW of compute targeted, 3 GW of electricity by 2029 (Army officials via El Paso Matters, Apr 2026); later reduced in scale and moved (Rep. Escobar statement via KFOX14; new figures not stated)
Investment: Official cost estimate not released (El Paso Matters)
Concerns / impacts: Gas generation and air quality; groundwater from the Hueco Bolson (El Paso Matters; Escobar via KFOX14)
Last verified: 2026-10-18

Milestones

Figures are attributed in parentheses to the outlet or company that reported them. Where sources disagree, we show both.

Mar 26 2026 Army conditionally selected Carlyle for exclusive negotiations
Initial Operating Capability projected FY2027 (Army)
Apr 22 2026 Army briefing to reporters (El Paso Matters)
later update: site moved, scale reduced, brackish water planned (Escobar statement via KFOX14)

Linked power & water

Power

News report Combined-cycle gas generation (likely): Combined-cycle gas turbines are the 'most likely' power source, per an Army assistant secretary (El Paso Matters). elpasomatters.org ↗

Water

News report Brackish water to the Kay Bailey Hutchison desalination plant: Water use will likely be brackish water sent to the Kay Bailey Hutchison desalination plant (Rep. Escobar statement via KFOX14). kfoxtv.com ↗
News report Fort Bliss wells / Hueco Bolson: If not served by El Paso Water, it would rely on Fort Bliss wells pumping the Hueco Bolson aquifer (El Paso Matters). elpasomatters.org ↗

Power and water projects tied to this data center: on-site or dedicated generation, utility and grid capacity deals, substations, water supply, reclaimed water and wastewater permits. Each item is labeled by source type.

Related records

2026-03-26

Federal announcement Official record El Paso County · Fort Bliss Army data center (Enhanced Use Lease)

Army conditionally selected Carlyle to build and operate a hyperscale data center on about 1,384 acres at Fort Bliss; lease not final.

Source: army.mil ↗

Sources

Official record army.mil
News report elpasomatters.org
News report kfoxtv.com

Found an error? Email [email protected] with a source link.

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