The rapid growth of Wiwynn Corp.’s data-server factory complex in Socorro, an El Paso suburb, means it needs more electricity.
So, the Taiwanese company plans to replace 13 portable natural-gas generators next to its 8-month-old factory with a much larger 120-megawatt power plant. To put that into perspective, El Paso Electric's smallest power plant produces 87 MW.
The off-grid power plant is part of the company's diversified power strategy to ensure it can meet the demands of its rapidly growing data center customers, Frances Wu, a Wiwynn spokesperson, said in an email.
The company also gets power from El Paso Electric, but the new power plant won't be tied to the utility's power grid.
Jacob Reyes, a spokesman for El Paso Electric, said, "We have
the capacity for their current needs and are working with the customer (Wiwynn) on contracts for their proposed future needs.”
The new power plant will be adjacent to Wiwynn's existing factory in the Socorro Logistics Center industrial park along Nuevo Hueco Tanks Boulevard, the southern extension of Eastlake Boulevard. It's across the street from the large Eastlake Valley housing subdivision.
A second factory is to open in 2027, and Wiwynn plans to build a four-factory complex in Socorro by 2028 to manufacture computer servers for data centers.
Self-contained power grids have become increasingly common to meet the rapidly growing power needs of hyperscale data centers and large factories. El Paso Electric is working to build a 366 MW power plant solely for the Meta data centercomplex in Northeast El Paso. Meta will also need additional power from EPE.
They’ve also become controversial because of the air pollution and noise they can produce, and they are often near residential neighborhoods.
The significantly larger new plant will emit more overall pollution, but less per generator than the current portable generators that began operating in August, said Tim Ondrak, president of the power business unit at Atlas Energy Solutions.
Austin-based Atlas is building and will operate the facility. It will use 30 Caterpillar natural gas-fueled generators, costing $139.2 million, housed inside a building designed to reduce outside noise. It's expected to begin operating in January 2027.
Air-permit applications for Wiwynn’s initial power generators and for the large facility were quietly approved by TCEQ in April and June. The standard permits do not require public notice or public meetings.
Growing power demand for data centers and manufacturing plants is driving Atlas' power-generation business, according to its second-quarter financial report.
The new power plant will primarily operate using 27 natural-gas-powered generators to produce 100 MW of power. But with 30 generators, it will have a capacity of 120 MW.
It's "a power plant like any utility would own and operate," said Atlas's Ondrak.
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The new facility is permitted to emit just under 371 tons per year of six pollutants from burning natural gas, compared to almost 206 tons per year of seven pollutants permitted for the existing 13 generators, which are also fueled by natural gas, the TCEQ permit applications show.
The biggest pollutants are volatile organic compounds (VOCs), nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), and formaldehyde (HCHO).
"The power plant, when completed, will have sophisticated emissions controls that will reduce the amount of pollution per unit," Ondrak said.
The 30 Caterpillar generators in the new plant are each capable of producing 4 MW of electricity with 12.36 tons of pollution per year, compared to the current 13 portable generators that are each able to produce 1.9 MW of electricity with 15.89 tons of pollution per year, he said.
Dirt work is underway for the construction of the power plant building and two additional Wiwynn factory buildings.
In addition to the private power plant, Wiwynn has an agreement with El Paso Electric to build a $24 million substation in the industrial park to increase utility power available for Wiwynn's growing operations. The substation is expected to be completed by the end of 2027.
Atlas provides oilfield services and private power systems. It gained notoriety in 2025 when it began operating the 42-mile Dune Express sand conveyor system for oil well fracking in the Permian Basin of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico.
It grew its business in February 2025 when it acquired Moser Energy Systems for $220 million, a Casper, Wyoming-based provider of power systems for the oilfield and other industries.
Vic Kolenc may be reached at 915-546-6421;vkolenc@elpasotimes.com; @vickolenc on X, and @vkolenc.bsky.socialon Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Power hungry: Wiwynn adding 120MW power plant for Socorro factories
