Chamber of Commerce executive Mike Berry spoke with Tammy Ramos from KLST on the potential of incoming data centers. Berry noted they could flip San Angelo's taxation from primarily residential to business dominated.
Mike cited area draws for data center location include excess power availability, abundant land (cheaply priced), proximity to natural gas, onsite solar generation, as well as state tax incentives.
Berry shared that City and County leaders are focused on adding infrastructure to accommodate this growth. The level of capital investment represents billions of dollars. Tax revenue comes from added business investment.
Berry noted one transaction could "potentially flip the ratio and take the burden of property taxes off the resident and push it back over to the business side."
Tom Green County Commissioners Court and San Angelo's City Council have taken the lesser taxation approach to date with several recent economic development projects. The City of San Angelo granted Peregrine Energy's Zeppelin Battery Storage Farm an 85% tax break for three years. Tom Green County gave Doral Renewables LLC Cold Creek Solar project a significant tax abatement via a payment in lieu of taxes arrangement.
At the time of the Zeppelin tax break the City needed funds to help retirees on their city sponsored health insurance. Council chose to add two new deductibles to loyal longtime employees, many on minimal retirement incomes.
Residents don't have to look far to see San Angelo's future, only 86 miles north in Abilene. Lancium or Project Ludacris started as a bitcoin mining, cheap energy arbitrage play but got swallowed by AI and was "the first Stargate" featured at President Trump's AI event.
Big Country Homepage reported:
Taylor County commissioners agreed to amend a tax abatement for the Lancium project. This abatement will allow Lancium to forgo paying taxes on 80% of their property value to Taylor County for the next 10 years
Once the first two buildings are occupied and the Lancium project is underway – Taylor County will see $4 million to $4.5 million a year in revenue.That's nothing to scoff at but San Angelo's annual budget is much larger according to the city website:
The City of San Angelo is projecting $261.79 million of revenue in FY2025
San Angelo Live reported in 2022:
Residential property taxpayers comprise 71 percent of property tax revenue generated. Commercial property generates only 14 percent of money to the City general revenue fund via property taxes. The remaining 15 percent of property tax revenue comes from taxable personal property, inventory, and business fixtures.Skybox Data Centers is coming and Cloudnium believes the next data center boom will occur in San Angelo (where they already have a presence):
San Angelo, Texas, is poised to become the next major data center boom location, thanks to its unique advantages and the visionary leadership of Cloudnium.net. With its central location, business-friendly environment, robust infrastructure, and emerging tech ecosystem, San Angelo offers unparalleled opportunities for data center investment and growth. As Cloudnium.net continues to lead the way, the city is set to become a key player in the global data center landscape, driving economic growth and innovation for years to come.Visionary leadership of Cloudnium....how many fingers are in this pie?
City retirees already felt the mis-prioritization of recent high-tech tax abatements. Who's next to get short shrift so Lancium, Blackstone, Crusoe, Blue Owl Capital, Microsoft, OpenAI and Primary Digital Infrastructure can make big money?
Update 6-14-25: Bloomberg did a video segment on StarGate and Abilene. Primary job creation did not seem front and center in elected officials minds.
Update 6-23-25: Fox West Texas ran a story on West Texas data centers and the promise of taxation. If history is any guide, San Angelo City Council will abate 80% or more of that promise.
Update 6-25-25: Fox West Texas ran another story on West Texas data centers and their need for power. Their piece mentions Cloudnium.
Update 7-20-25: The Hill reported Texas law allows:
developers of data centers or real estate to effectively secede from city authority, allowing them to drill their own wells into the city water supply without the city being able to charge them taxes or impact fees.
Update 12-16-25: San Angelo economic developers told bitcoin miners "no" twice. They did not say it was the Lancium crew which turned into Stargate's Giant AI facility. They did so in a podcast which can be viewed below:
Update 12-20-25: The Real Deal reported:
Bolt Data & Energy announced it raised $150 million in capital and struck a partnership with Texas Pacific Land Corporation, which is investing another $50 million into the venture, according to a joint press release Wednesday. The tie-up positions Bolt Data to develop large-scale data centers on Texas Pacific’s sprawling West Texas holdings, as demand for energy-hungry AI computers accelerates, Bloomberg reported.
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Update 12-29-25:
Council Member Patrick Keely will hold a Data Center Development Community Meeting on Monday, December 29, 2025 from 5:30-6:30 pm at the Downtown Library in the Brooks & Bates Room. The subject is the proposed Skybox Data Center on Highway 67 just north of city limits. Council approved the sale of 350 acres of city owned land to Skybox in March 2025.Issues are noise pollution, water use, appropriate zoning, need for city services while residing outside city limits, traffic safety and electrical power use for the proposed 1.5 million square foot development distributed across six buildings (each of which is four stories high).A flyer for this public meeting states the item will be voted on at Council's next meeting on January 13, 2026.
Update 3-17-26: Chamber executive Michael Looney informed the Development Corporation board that Project Zeppelin's construction has been pushed out to Q4 2027. He also said the 380 with Skybox Data Centers needs a lot of work and for some issues to be resolved at the state level.
Update 8-25-26: Chamber exec Michael Looney spoke with the San Angelo Sunrise Rotary Club. Their report is below:
Wednesday’s speaker was Michael Looney from the San Angelo Chamber of Commerce, where he has led economic development efforts since 2014. We invited him to provide clarity on the controversial Data Center Project, and he shared several important details. Data center companies have targeted San Angelo because of the three major power way stations located here. These stations carry 45 KVA of power, and approximately 90% of that power flows east, making San Angelo a strategic location for large‑scale data operations.
The proposed development is massive in scope:
- 600 acres
- Buildings approximately 2½ stories tall
- Each structure totaling 248,000 square feet
- Likely two companies, each constructing six buildings
Members raised concerns about water usage, power demand, and noise, and Mr. Looney addressed each of these issues. He noted that while the project offers significant long‑term benefits, the construction phase will be disruptive, with heavy traffic and considerable activity throughout the buildout.
The projected tax revenue from the development is substantial—estimated at $150 million, representing a major economic opportunity for the region.
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