SA1 Data Center Has Layers

Chamber Executive Michael Looney informed the Development Corporation that the data center project needed work locally (on the 380 economic development agreement) and at the state level (approval for the plan to provide power/electricity for the project).  

Looney also talked about the recent Economic Summit, which had a panel on the data center project.  Mayor Tom Thompson moderated the panel with three representatives from Emergent Data Centers. 

Looney did not mention the data center at all in the Economic Summit section of his report.  

Emergent is actively marketing the San Angelo data center project to potential users.

Their documentation cites major solar generation projects in the area and the opportunity to contract directly for that power.  Meta is buying the power produced by Apex Clean Energy's solar farm in Tom Green County.  Apex is backed by Ares Management.

Looney also informed the Development Corporation that Peregrine Energy's battery farm would begin construction in Q4 2027.  Council gave that project an 85% tax abatement for three years.  Peregrine is backed by KKR.

Doral Renewables is behind another solar farm in the area.  Doral is backed by Apollo.

Skybox projects in other areas have been funded by BlueOwl, which has had a rough go of late.  Looney has frequently cited private equity (Ares, KKR, Apollo, Blueowl) as being very interested in our area.  There is currently a private equity funded spec building project in the Industrial Park.  

City Council took up leasing the land for the proposed Skybox/Emergent data center for $1 million per year beginning November 1, 2026.  The City already has a letter of agreement with Skybox for the possible sale of the land.  The State of Texas needs more than a letter of agreement to provide power via ERCOT and AEP, thus the lease.  

All lease proceeds will go towards the purchase price.  

Emergent's CEO offered the following during the Chamber's Economic Summit:

"It's the Skybox project and Emergent is the developer."

"We're looking for a home to build a campus for one of the Big Five (Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Google) .... one will lease the building from us.... We will be building for the next seven years."

As for the specific usage and the servers purchased, that will be determined by the eventual occupant.  

The public should know that there are three potential recipients of subsidies and tax breaks, Skybox, Emergent and the final occupant.  The 380 agreement is under negotiation between the City and Skybox.  

Once Emergent is successful in landing one of the Big Five, that company may request subsidies and/or tax breaks as their investment will be magnitudes greater than the buildings themselves. 

This data center project has layers.  Critical elements remain that need to be addressed for it to move forward.   

A Texas State Senator (Red Team) called for an immediate pause in data center development.  Issues cited include water, power and transparency.  The Senator called for the pause so "rural areas can evaluate effects on critical resources and infrastructure."

Update:  An Ohio Senator (Red Team) called out The Carlyle Group, another PEU, for accepting a  "$4.5 million state tax break for a data center expansion project in Northeast Ohio. Despite Carlyle’s investment, the project will only create ten new jobs."

Update 3-21-26:  ConchoValleyHomepage did a story on City Council's approval of the land lease to our possible data center.  

Skybox Backing Out of Land Purchase?

Skybox Data Centers may not buy that 350 acres northeast of town for $17.4 million after all.  City Council has a possible lease of the land to San Angelo Data Center Campus Power LLC on its closed agenda for their March 17 meeting.

One year ago this same City Council approved a letter of intent to sell the land to Skybox Data Centers for $50,000 per acre.  This has not happened.  

Data center financing has become more problematic given the obscene sums of money required.  BlueOwl, a funder of other Skybox projects, has had a difficult run this year.  That means less capital for projects.  Asking the city to avoid the $17.4 million land sale and provide a reasonable lease amount could save big money on the project.  It also takes away a financial plum for pursuing the project.

Mayor Tom Thompson has said that people need to wait for the 380 (economic development) agreement, which many assumed would be after or in conjunction with the land sale.  

The big money behind these projects, solar/battery, data centers, often want to get out within 5-7 years with a handsome profit.  If the city keeps and leases the land, in ten years it may have a giant eyesore for which it is responsible.  Time will tell, unless there is a non-disclosure agreement (NDA).  An NDA could keep all but a few people in the dark forever.  

Update:  Chamber Executive Michael Looney spoke at the Development Corporation and shared that the 380 economic development agreement with Skybox needs a lot more work and that the state needs to respond to the project's power request/proposal.  Apparently, things are on track and a property lease enables progress to be made while those two fronts, the 380 and state power approval via ERCOT and AEP.

Skybox is the owner of the project and Emergent Data Centers is the developer.  Members of the Emergent Team were interviewed by the Mayor at the Economic Development Summit put on by the Chamber.

Gas Price Up $1 per Gallon

Sam's Club Gas price:

Feb. 27 - $2.33 per gallon

Day 1 of attack on Iran by U.S. and its 51st state Israel:

Feb. 28 - $2.59

Afterward:

March 4 - $2.93

March 9 - $3.13

March 11 - $3.33 per gallon

As of this morning San Angelo has experienced a $1.00 per gallon rise which is a 43% increase.  That happened in less than two weeks.  

Update 3-14-26:  The President flip flopped on his gas price stance.  What once was bad is now good....

Update 3-19-26:  Sam's Club gas price as of this morning is $3.70 per gallon.  The administration said gas prices should return to normal in a few more weeks.

Skybox Website Shows Wichita Falls PowerCampus

Skybox has a video of its Wichita Falls "PowerCampus Texas" project on its website.  The project is in conjunction with Blue Owl, which recently stopped early redemptions at one fund in response to investor requests

The design of the Wichita Falls PowerCampus accommodates AI and machine learning.

Skybox is "committed to being a transparent and collaborative partner."  They have a lot of work to do in that arena if they actually come to San Angelo.

Update 3-8-26:  San Marcos voted against zoning for a data center for the second time.  The item can come before their city council again in six months.  

San Angelo City Council could not get Skybox to make a presentation at their evening meeting on February 17th when the company was in town for a Chamber of Commerce event.

The news keeps getting worse for Blue Owl, the potential lender for San Angelo's data center.

Waiting on the 380 with Skybox

San Angelo City Council directed staff in regard to conditional use zoning standards for data centers.  Numerous citizens spoke during public comment with many encouraging Council to utilize a formal development process like Round Rock, Texas.  

Skybox presented earlier today at a Chamber of Commerce event (with paid registration) but did not appear at City Council (which citizens may attend at no charge).  

Mayor Tom Thompson closed the data center agenda item with "the rules are the rules and we set forward with that with the 380."  The 380 is an economic development agreement.  

I submitted a public information request for economic development documents on December 8, 2025.  

Please provide documents, communications, emails and texts relative to the City of San Angelo's economic development arrangement with Skybox Data Centers or whichever legal entity is developing the data center on former city land within the City Farm area in the northeast portion of town. 

This information could include a projected timeline, specific financial or tax incentives, and any other inducements, monetary or in-kind services. 

The Development Corporation website mentions the project with its statement: "Facilitated data center site development tied to renewable energy access." My request is relative to this specific City of San Angelo effort

The City petitioned the Attorney General to keep all relevant documents confidential and away from public view.  

Only the City knows how comprehensive their Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) is with Skybox.  Rest assured, Skybox has employed the best lawyers to keep their information, even the most basic, private.  

After Tom Thompson referenced the 380 which is under tight lock and key, it felt like Council had picked out the attire and hair style for the person (Skybox) who might rob you later (higher electricity and water bills).   

Public subsidies are yet to be explored by this council.  I don't see how they can give Skybox tax breaks (or more) without sharing something.  

Update 2-19-26:  When asked about what information cannot be shared per any signed Non Disclosure Agreement and who from the city had signed such a NDA with Skybox the city replied:

The City of San Angelo has reviewed its files and has determined there are no responsive documents to your request.

And this applies to contracted entities as well?  

Update 3-16-26:  BlueOwl has financed a number of Skybox's data centers.  BlueOwl has been having a rougher time of late.  This may or may not impact financing for the San Angelo project.  

Data Center Sound Requirements Have Giant Loophole

San Angelo City Council will entertain design recommendations for data centers in this evening's meeting.  Council members are likely attending the presentation by SkyBox Data Centers at a Chamber of Commerce event today.  

The U.S. Department of Energy recently enacted such an emergency for backup power generators: 

Currently, there are tens of gigawatts of readily available backup generation that have remained largely untapped until now. Deployment of backup generation resources (whether auxiliary, standby, directly-connected, battery storage or other, and whether synchronized or not to the bulk power system) at data centers (including but not limited to hyperscaler facilities), and at other large load industrial and commercial customer sites, can prevent avoidable blackouts, thereby saving lives and reducing costs to the American people. The employment of this backup generation is expected to reduce stress on the grid. 

This will permit orderly, safe, and secure operations during Winter Storm Fern. Consistent with my letter issued on January 22, 2026, ERCOT requested today that DOE issue an order pursuant to FPA section 202(c) to allow the deployment of backup generation during emergency conditions.

By overtaxing the Texas energy grid, data centers can fire up their generators and sell power back through ERCOT.  

Abilene's giant AI facility started as a Bitcoin mining energy arbitrage play on stranded cheap renewable power.  It happened to be in the right place at the right time to get scooped up into Trump II's White House AI initiative "Stargate."   

Anyone care to hear what 160 emergency generators sound like when they are all fired up?  Anyone else want to be downwind of their emissions?  

We used to smell the rendering plant when the wind blew from the northeast.  What will an energy emergency smell like in San Angelo's future?

TechGods bring a different kind of rendering which includes massive amounts of garbage from the internet.  I expect this next round to be no different than their contributions to date.

Update 3-21-26:  The public should be aware of TechGod's impact on our country's youth:

Heavy social media use contributes to a stark decline in well-being among young people, with the effects particularly worrying in teenage girls in English-speaking countries and Western Europe

And this we wish to export to other parts of the globe.

Kerr County Emergency Officials Confused on July 4th

Text messages revealed how long emergency response was delayed in the deadly Kerr County July 4th flash flood.  Officials paid to respond to disasters were difficult to reach or not available when needed.

Kerr County is yet to release an after action report on their response to the flash flood.  County Commissioners raised the need to do one back in August 2025.  

The County has a plan to respond to flood disasters.  How did that plan work on July 4th?  It's long past time for the public to be informed of official actions vs. those specified in the disaster plan.  Not doing an evaluation would be yet another abdication of responsibility.  

The banquet of non-consequences continues.  Competent leadership must be a thing of the past.