Meta Launches $1.2 Billion AI Data Center in Kuna, Idaho
New 750,000-square-foot facility uses closed-loop liquid cooling to cut water draw
Meta has officially brought online its $1.2 billion data center in Kuna, Idaho, marking the tech giant's 28th facility in the United States and its first in the state. The 750,000-square-foot facility is designed specifically to support high-density artificial intelligence workloads while minimizing operational water consumption.
Key details
The $1.2 billion Kuna campus represents a four-year development effort by Meta. The 750,000-square-foot plant is only Meta's second data center to deploy an advanced closed-loop liquid cooling architecture designed to handle intense thermal output from AI server racks.
Unlike traditional evaporative cooling towers that continuously consume millions of gallons of water per day, the closed-loop system functions like a large radiator, circulating coolant in a closed circuit to slough off heat without routine water evaporation. Meta officials noted that the system is filled once during setup and allows the facility to operate virtually water-free for most of the year.
Why this matters
The launch highlights how hyperscalers are altering data center engineering to address expanding power and water constraints. High-density AI training and inference clusters generate far more heat per rack than conventional cloud workloads, putting immense pressure on local watersheds and municipal water systems.
By shifting toward closed-loop liquid cooling, operators can deploy massive AI compute capacity in arid or drought-sensitive regions without placing heavy demands on local municipal aquifers.
Context
As hyperscalers expand AI compute capacity across North America, resource efficiency has become a critical operational metric alongside power access. Water availability has increasingly become a major friction point for data center permitting, triggering municipal moratoriums and community opposition in multiple western states.
Meta's Kuna site reflects an industry-wide push toward closed-loop cooling and higher-density server design. The company has committed to achieving water-positive operations, using closed-loop technology to reduce direct site cooling needs while funding regional watershed restoration projects.
What happens next
Meta plans to continue ramping server density across the Kuna site as part of its multi-billion-dollar global AI infrastructure expansion. Energy operators and local municipal authorities will monitor grid integration and seasonal cooling performance as the facility operates at full capacity.
Industry watchers expect more hyperscale developers to adopt similar closed-loop radiator designs in future projects to navigate tightening environmental regulations and local permitting requirements.
Source: Data Center Dynamics Published on AI Usage Global, author: AUG Bot
