Brutal Data Center Stats for Texas Water

Texas faces the prospect of 750 new data centers according to a presentation at the recent Milken Global Conference.  Currently 140 data centers are under construction and 610 have been announced.  It's not clear if San Angelo/Tom Green County's potential four data centers are in the count.  Likely not, so the number could grow much higher.

Beacon Data Centers is looking at Dove Creek in Tom Green County for a possible location.  Their website indicates one of their data centers under development would use 400 acre feet of water per year.  

They said they would not drill wells but use surface water from Spring Creek.  I don't see how that is possible given we live upstream and the creek goes dry solely from upstream irrigation.  They stop irrigating and the flow returns.  It's not nearly enough to sustain daily operations of a giant data center.

Take 750 new data centers at 400 acre feet per year once under operation and that's an additional 300,000 acre feet needed statewide.  That does not count the water needed for construction or for new workers' living needs during the construction period.

Consider this recent report from Politico:

The neighbors of a data center in Georgia are steaming after they discovered the facility had sucked up nearly 30 million gallons of water.... 

Outrage started bubbling up last year when residents of an affluent subdivision named Annelise Park in Fayetteville, Georgia, noticed their water pressure was unusually low.

The company said its water consumption was so high last year because of temporary construction-related activities, such as concrete work, dust control and site preparation

Water demands occur long before sites become operational.  That 30 million gallons equates to 92 acre feet.  Someone needs to model the water use of 750 additional Texas data centers during the construction period.   That's water for the work and for the workers who surely need showers at the end of the day.  

A recent story in the Houston Chronicle indicated Texas data centers would go from using less than 1% of the state's water to 9% by 2040.  At a minimum that's a tenfold increase.  The study was done by the University of Texas.

The State of Texas has thrown the door wide open for these facilities.  That is why there are so many coming.  The newfound reticence of elected officials may be real and it may be for show.  

San Angelo and Tom Green County have four data centers exploring sites.  The Skybox/Emergent in San Angelo seems pretty far along and is actively being marketed.  Beacon Data Centers expressed interest and met with the community, which clearly told them to look elsewhere.  The other two sites have not been named, by interested party or location in the county.   

The picture is brutal on water alone.  No responsible elected official could allow this to happen on such an obscene scale.  

Update 5-13-26:  A mega data center development named "The Stratos Project" in Utah was approved by Box Elder County commissioners.  

Box Elder County, Utah gets 17 inches of rain, on average, per year.

Average annual rainfall for San Angelo is 21 inches.   

Stratos has a long way to go to become fully operational:

Developers say they will begin raising capital within 60 days and aim to start initial phases within months. The data center would likely not be in operation for ten years.

How did a Shark have so much success that far inland, in an area with so little water?  It won because local and state leaders prioritized out of state corporate interests above the people who elected them.  They did so "because the Undersecretary of the Air Force asked them to."

San Angelo has Goodfellow Airforce Base, which trains military intelligence and firefighters across all of the military's branches.  As of now there is no state group coordinating project development, but that could change.

Sumter is Latest PEU Player

The big money boys have found San Angelo according to Chamber Vice President Michael Looney.  Private equity underwriters (PEU) are behind numerous projects in San Angelo, Tom Green County and the Concho Valley.

One even shared his history with private equity at the recent data center public meeting.  That was Emergent founder and CEO Chris Sumter.  

Sumter noted he was part of the team that founded Vantage Data Systems which became a Silver Lake affiliate in 2010.  That should have been Sumter's first windfall.

Next he did a data center in Santa Clara with Acore Capital.  Now he heads Emergent Data Centers which has primarily worked with Blue Owl for project financing.

It does not appear Emergent itself has a private equity sponsor, but these relationships are private and can remain opaque.

Many data center projects are financed through joint ventures between developers and institutional equity investors, including pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, and infrastructure-focused private equity sponsors. The developer typically contributes expertise, entitlements, and project management capabilities while the equity partner provides the majority of the capital.

Sumter is the developer with the expertise and project management capabilities.  The City of San Angelo, Tom Green County and the State of Texas are contributors of entitlements (which can include incentives).  

Entitled sites offer a clear path to execution, reducing the uncertainty associated with early-stage development.

SA1 is promoted as "a municipal partnership built for speed" and having "exceptional municipal support."  Oddly, the City of San Angelo has no documents relative to that claim.

Representative Drew Darby made his position on data centers clear via a statement.  It closed with:

Texas taxpayers should not be subsidizing billion-dollar facilities. If a data center cannot pencil out without a government handout, that tells you something. I will support ending blanket tax abatements and redirecting those dollars toward the communities that actually bear the costs of this development. West Texas will never simply be a place to plant a server farm and hand the bill to ratepayers — not on my watch.

I hope that includes eliminating the current Texas sales tax break for the expensive equipment that fills these data centers.  Also, the U.S. Congress should finally eliminate private equity's preferred "carried interest taxation."  It has remained for decades despite widespread unpopularity.

The big money boys have found us and the only thing that will turn them away is charging them bigger money.  

Fire up the tax abatement and PEU preferred taxation grinders in the various Capital basements.  That vibration may be anathema to their hurdle rates.  Let the players play elsewhere.

Local Tax Abatements for Private Equity Backed Projects

The City of San Angelo officially renewed its tax abatement program at its last meeting.  Tom Green County has been active in that arena as well.  There are three recipients of such abatements, Apex Clean Energy, Peregrine Energy and Doral LLC.  All are owned by private equity underwriters (PEU).

Chamber Vice President Michael Looney informed the San Angelo Development Corporation Board that more private equity projects are interested in coming to the area.  He cited four data centers, the Skybox/Emergent effort in the city and three more in the county, with Beacon being the one identified to date.  

Skybox has been backed by Blue Owl Capital, which has had a difficult run of late as investors have fled its private credit offerings.  

Private equity affiliates pursue projects with the intent of increasing the future sale price of that company.  Their financial structure often is heavily debt funded which can cause a heavy interest burden in times of rising interest rates (as the rate tends to be variable) and difficult economic conditions (potentially with less revenue/higher costs).  

It is not unusual for a PEU affiliate to simply hand over the keys to the organization to lenders.  That is a consideration, as the timing for actual benefit to San Angelo citizens may coincide with the entity's stressed sale or closure. 

Promises of greater local taxes three to five years down the road may or may not materialize.  The State of Texas already ensured sales taxes on the billions ($) in expensive servers will not be paid.  Think about that the next time you have to replace your computer, phone or laptop.  

Politicians Red & Blue love PEU and increasingly, more are one.  The national trend has become local.  It's a sad day to see.  

SA1 Data Center Has Giant Hat, City Provides No Meat

The following public information request was submitted on April 27th.

“Please provide documents relative to the following information from Emergent Data Centers that references the City of San Angelo: Municipal Partnership Built for Speed 

"San Angelo has annexed the site and fast-tracked data center zoning by-right. The city has confirmed water and sewer capacity for full-scale development. This is a city-backed infrastructure project with committed resources."  

The document also states the City of San Angelo is providing "exceptional municipal support." Please provide documents delineating this exceptional municipal support. Thank you.” 

On April 29th city staff asked for clarification:'

This letter is to clarify what information you are seeking from the City of San Angelo. 

PLEASE CLARIFY THE DOCUMENTS YOU ARE REQUESTING.

On May 1st I replied with:

I request documents delineating the "committed resources" to this "city-backed infrastructure project" (Emergent/Skybox Data Center). Also, I request the specific levels of service the city is providing Emergent/Skybox to achieve the "exceptional municipal support" level, As the partnership is "built for speed" I request a projected timeline with key development steps and an anticipated start date. Thank you.

This morning I received:

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

No documents for a "city backed infrastructure project with committed resources."  How can that be?

Citizens Speak on Emergent/Skybox's SAI

 

The above video is cued to begin with citizen comment from the 4-22-26 public meeting on the Skybox/Emergent Data Center project in northeast San Angelo.  

Prior to public comment Mayor Thompson interviewed two gentlemen from Emergent Data Centers, Skybox's developer/sales agent.  The project is marketed as having "exceptional municipal support" and a "municipal partnership built for speed."

As someone who has tried to get information on economic development incentives since December 2025 I'd like to add "secrecy" to "speed."  I submitted that question for the public meeting but leadership chose not to address it in their infomercial.  

I had to leave as public comment was starting as I needed to go home and take care of animals.  I must say residents of San Angelo, Abilene Tom Green and surrounding counties spoke eloquently and passionately.  Bravo.  The video is worth watching.

The meeting deteriorated at the end when San Angelo Live's Joe Hyde chose to insult the crowd.

If that's your champion, I'm not sure you are on the right side.  Hyde ran for Tom Green County Judge against Lane Carter but lost.

Mayor Thompson did not have Hyde escorted out, instead Tom closed with:

"We are finished with public comment. Thank goodness." 

Box checked.  I'm afraid that means it's over.  

Dove Creek's Shawn Nanny (Tom Green County Commissioner) spoke simply and passionately against Beacon Data Centers locating in his community.  San Angelo's Joe Hyde trashed a public meeting with name calling against people doing the same as Nanny.  

It's a stain that taints and that may have been the aim.  End the show with a dookie. 

Note:  There are four data centers under consideration, one in San Angelo and three more in Tom Green County (source:  COSADC board meeting presentation by Michael Looney on 4-8-26).  

Tom Green County is asking for the ability to act on behalf of its citizens in shepherding local resources, water, power, etc..

The initial post had Joe Hyde as a mayoral candidate against Thompson.  That was incorrect and the post updated to show Hyde ran for County Judge but lost.  Had he won he might be shepherding the development of three data centers and not asking the state legislature for the ability to protect citizens from data center harm. 12:10 pm on 4-24-26

Update 5-4-26:  San Angelo City Council will entertain an agenda item on data center zoning in tomorrow's Council meeting.  I expect citizens will want to speak as that is their right.  Hopefully, Joe Hyde will keep his remarks on the positives of data centers and why he is such an advocate.  His trashing of his peers was a sorry display from someone who'd hoped to serve the public.

Emergent Data Center Show at McNease Convention Center

San Angelo Mayor Tom Thompson interviewed two executives from Emergent Data Center, CEO Chris Sumter and Chief Technology Officer Mike Coleman, about the proposed Skybox Data Center project in the Northeast portion of town.  This followed a presentation by Planning & Development Director Aaron Vannoy on ordinance changes based on development research from other communities with current and proposed data centers.

The Mayor's structured interview covered the following areas:

• Emergent Executives background
• Why San Angelo
• Water Use
• Noise Mitigation
• Construction
• Operation - jobs created
• Grid - electricity impact
• Community responsibility
• Tax revenue (no specifics given)

The panel discussion had several explicit sales pitches embedded in it as well as promises to solve any problems that arose.  There was no indication that any panel member thought the project itself was problematic for San Angelo and this part of West Texas.  

Not addressed by the panel or the city's planning director:  economic development incentives currently under consideration for the project.  

I submitted that question on April 9th using the online form:

Please provide information about any public subsidies, direct or indirect, that the city is providing or plans to consider to support the development of the Skybox/Emergent Data Center. I submitted a public information request to this effect in December 2025 but have received no response at the City of San Angelo appealed to the Texas Attorney General to keep such information confidential.

It's interesting that city leaders can share research on design parameters from other cities but not on economic development incentives.  Last night's meeting would have been the perfect opportunity for city leaders to share their thinking in this arena.  They expressly have not to date and likely won't until it goes before Council for an up or down vote.  The hint that tax breaks will be included is the five to six year time frame to accrue community financial benefit.

I did learn that Chris Sumter started Emergent after a meeting with a private equity firm, something like Emphoric Capital.  Also, the city may steer its reclaimed water to the project (away from Wall farmers).  Whoever Emergent/Skybox leases the data center to may or may not pay sales taxes on the equipment they place in the facility (currently a State of Texas tax break).  The Mayor said it is not the city's right to demand anything from the company in terms of good community relations.

The city posted documents relative to the meeting/project.  Emergent mentioned "exceptional municipal support" and a "municipal partnership built for speed."

That bodes poorly for those wishing a moratorium on data center construction, requests made at the April 21st City Council meeting (as well as over the last six months).  

On April 8th Chamber Vice President  Michael Looney informed the City of San Angelo Development Corporation board that four data centers are shopping locally, Emergent in city limits and three others outside the city in Tom Green County.  In that same meeting Looney cited the potential to "brand San Angelo as a potential location for other data centers."

I was unable to stay for the public comment portion of the meeting but hope to view the video.  At least I got to hear the commercial.  

Dove Creek Tells Beacon Data Centers to Go Elsewhere

A crowd of several hundred showed up for Beacon Data Centers' public meeting on their proposed Dove Creek Technology Campus project.  Virtually all were in opposition, including Tom Green County Commissioner Shawn Nanny.

Four56 Church hosted the meeting and their pastor shared information about the church and the kind of behavior decent people show one other.  

Beacon's representatives led with their intention of being a good steward.  Mark Attinger of The Attinger Group and Attinger Construction served as the local face for the project.  

Co-founder and Executive Vice President of Origination Joseph Shovlin was the Irish voice of Beacon, an affiliate of Nadia Partners.  

They stated their intent to be involved in the community and fund important infrastructure projects/local organizations.  They also made it clear they wanted to hear community concerns so the project could take those wishes into account early in the design phase.  And then they opened it up for questions.

The first question arose around noise levels.  EVP Shovlin said they were not prepared to discuss specifics at this stage in the project development as they had not even determined the size of the project or where it would be sited on the property, which is a large tract at the corner of Highway 67 South (between San Angelo and Mertzon) and FM Road 2335.

  

At that point attendees got the impression that few actual details would be shared in the major concern areas of noise, traffic, electricity, water, wastewater treatment, impact on property values, local economy, emissions and infrastructure needs.  

And they were mostly correct in that conclusion, however the following notable items were shared:

Water - At this stage they believe their water needs will be met from the existing water rights to several hundred acre feet from Spring Creek, dam reconstruction, mesquite eradication and rainwater harvesting.  They said their are no plans to utilize groundwater.  Surface water means the Concho River Watermaster and TCEQ.  Apparently there are two diversion points, one on each side of the creek of the existing property.

I spoke with Vice President of Corporate Affairs Lauren Armstrong after the meeting and shared the vagaries of surface water dependability in West Texas.  We lose creek flow completely due to upstream irrigation.  The irrigation stops and the creek flows again.  And we are far closer to the headwaters than Beacon's site.  That said, there are springs up and down the creek but many spots are dry for months at a time upstream of the Dove Creek Technology Campus.  She said they would haul in water for their daily needs if needed.

"We are not for sale." 

Power - The Beacon model is 100% natural gas turbine power generation.  They need to tie into a natural gas pipeline and that is part of the project's feasibility assessment.  

"Go away."

Wastewater - There would be a wastewater treatment facility onsite.

"We don't want you."

Traffic - There would be no access to the property down 2335.  The entrance would be just after the railroad tracks and new roads would be built within the property to meet their construction and operating needs.  They floated a reworking of the dangerous curve at 67 & 2335 as a public benefit of the project.

"Please leave us alone." 

Beacon will complete their environmental studies over the next four months (traffic, noise, emissions, water, wastewater) and share the results.  

Meanwhile they will take into account the information shared in the community meeting, all except "go away."  After all they are developers and Texas officials have said the state is open for business.

Update:  ConchoValleyHomepage ran a story on the meeting.

Update 4-18-26:  One Texas water well driller is worried about the impact of data centers.