Members of the Taylor City Council have unanimously approved annexing a 664-acre data center project into the city limits.
The decision on Thursday comes amid local pushback against Taylor Technology Campus, formerly called “Project Mustang,” with one resident saying the project will “suck up our water, take our energy, and raise our prices.”
Developers Big Watt Digital and PowerHouse Data Centers emphasized the plans for on-site generation at a Taylor Planning and Zoning Commission meeting held in August. Despite this, local residents still vehemently opposed the project.
“My neighbors, we are all against this,” one resident said. “I don’t like it.”
Another resident questioned whether Taylor had the resources to support a project of this size, asking, “Why would we incur that responsibility?”
Taylor P&Z commissioners voted 6-2 at the meeting to revisit the project after 90 days, though because the project at the time sat outside the city limits, it could have moved forward regardless of city approval.
This desire for greater authority over the project development led to the city council annexing the property in a 5-0 vote.
According to the terms of the approval, the 20-year agreement would bring the property into city limits, where Taylor would be able to ensure the project meets standards on noise, water use, and community benefits.
The project campus reported that it will be required to use a closed-loop cooling system with nonpotable water, and potable water will be used only under strict circumstances specified in the agreement.
“I believe the terms before Council represent the best path forward for Taylor and the surrounding area,” Mayor Jim Buzan stated. “The regulations that Big Watt and PowerHouse have agreed to for the project will work to ensure that the community’s concerns about noise, water use, and setbacks are being addressed and enforced by the City and Council.”
The project is expected to bring in $1.38 billion in gross tax revenue over the next 20 years, and the developers have promised to give $28.2 million to local schools, city improvement projects, and community programs.
“When we were approached with this proposal, we carefully evaluated its potential impact and considered it through one very important lens: will it benefit our students?” Taylor ISD Superintendent Jennifer Garcia-Edwardsen told the city council. “We believe this agreement clearly meets that standard, and if the project moves forward, it will provide meaningful, lasting benefits for our students.”
In a statement released after the vote, Big Watt and Powerhouse stated that the “unanimous vote reflects [their] ongoing commitment to delivering a responsible, purpose-built data center campus, in alignment with Governor Abbott’s data center standards.”
“We also understand that being a responsible developer includes being a good neighbor and community partner,” the developers added.
However, many residents are still unsure whether the project is what’s best for Taylor and its residents.
“The new name is all warm and fuzzy, but it seems like you should have kept the Project Mustang name, given the pace at which this is being pushed through,” Taylor resident Scott Gibbs said.
“Wait for the state legislature to do the research and create legislation that will protect Texans. In the meantime, hold neighborhood meetings to explain the risk to the public if we start building gas power plants. There’s absolutely no need to rush this,” Gibbs added.
Taylor’s decision comes after multiple Texas developers, energy companies, and infrastructure firms recently created the Lone Star Infrastructure Coalition in an attempt to “transparently [communicate] the economic case for data centers and power projects.”
