El Paso City Council is set to vote on beginning negotiations with Meta Platforms Inc. for a Community Benefits Agreement. The agreement would cover hiring practices, environmental protections, and improvements to El Paso infrastructure.
Key Components of the Agreement
The proposed agreement includes measures such as ‘El Paso First’ hiring, which aims to increase permanent hires to 300, and community roundtables to discuss the data center’s impact. Additionally, the agreement would address environmental concerns, including upgrading and repairing water purification and recycling infrastructure, and creating a timeline to connect the data center’s cooling towers to El Paso’s groundwater.
The agreement also includes plans for an advanced training center in partnership with local school districts and El Paso Community College (EPCC) to create an employment pipeline for jobs in fields like fiber optic and server technicians, as well as engineers.
Environmental Protections
The proposed agreement would also establish an ‘Emissions Reduction Fund’ to build solar-powered battery infrastructure and reduce emissions. Furthermore, it would provide funding to improve El Paso’s solar and battery grid, reducing the likelihood of ‘brownouts’. A ‘Ratepayer Protection Fund’ would also be established to help El Paso Electric customers with any bill increases resulting from the data center’s operation.
Original reporting: El Paso News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
