As the controversies over proposed data centers at several sites in Oklahoma have caught even the attention of the Washington Post this week, such disputes are spreading across Kansas and now to Texas.
This week, Hood County Commissioners just southwest of Fort Worth gave conditional approval to a 2,600-acre data center complex. Approval came after a meeting that lasted nearly eight hours. The commissioners also decided they will hold a public hearing in February to consider the possibility of a moratorium on such major industrial projects.
Residents voiced their opposition to the project called Comanche Circle, a proposal for a park to include several data center buildings, on-site power generation and on-site water and wastewater management, all of which require special permits, reported KERA public radio. Real estate company Sailfish filed the proposal and planned to rely on private groundwater wells and a private wastewater plant. The request showed construction could start this year with the centers becoming operational by 2027.
Residents already complain about a Bitcoin mining center located in the county and also voiced opposition to the proposal from the real estate firm.
“When I hear this noise, my thoughts are, ‘I get to pay property taxes to be audibly assaulted,'” said Hood County resident John Highsmith. “And my neighbors in Mitchell Bend suffer greatly from the constant noise. It’s just a travesty.”
Others spoke too.
“Do your homework, go slow and get it right,” said resident Cindy Highsmith.
More than a dozen speakers asked county leaders to spend more time studying the project’s long-term effects.
“I know we would rather deal with a lawsuit than something that will fundamentally change our land, air and water forever,” said resident Matt Long.
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