HAYS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) – Despite months of community pushback, construction appears to have started on a controversial AI data center in a rural part of Hays County.
CloudBurst Data Centers announced its plans to build the facility in February. At the time, the company had posted a timeline on its website indicating construction would begin earlier this year. At a county meeting in May, Hays County Judge Ruben Beccera said that the commissioners’ court had limited power when it comes to development on private property.
“We were able to delay them by a few months,” said Jennifer Lindsey, whose family has lived near the proposed site since the mid-1990s. “They were supposed to start the groundbreaking in April of 2025. As you can see, it’s November 2025. We feel really happy about that. But they’ve gotten their permits, and they can proceed forward as far as we know.”
The Lindsey family learned in February that plans were underway for multiple data centers in the area, including CloudBurst’s. The family and environmental activists have been trying to stop them ever since.
On Wednesday, the fight against the CloudBurst facility came to an end.
“Today, specifically, there was a bulldozer at one location with a tent, and then there was a tent and chairs set up. We determined it was a groundbreaking ceremony,” Lindsey said. “It’s devastating,” she added through tears.
As the company held its ceremony, around a dozen protesters, including the Lindsey family, banged pots and drums while chanting in opposition.
“We came out here to not let them enjoy themselves,” Lindsey said. “That’s the right we have – that’s what we’re given as citizens – to come out and be on public lands and show them that we aren’t happy, that they are taking something really precious away from us.”
“From the outside, it looks like they’re just really happy with themselves,” Lindsey continued. “This isn’t a wealthy area – all these people are working class,” Lindsey added. “You see luxury cars pulling in people with money. It’s hard not to judge.”
CloudBurst had not responded to our request for comment. If it does, this story will be updated.
CloudBurst presentation in May
Water is used to cool down equipment within data centers. A large data center can use over 500,000 gallons of water a day, the equivalent of over 4,000 people’s daily water use, according to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
At a Hays County Commissioners Court meeting in May, CloudBurst said it would recycle its water and attempted to dispel concerns about tainted water leaking into streams. At that time, CloudBust said it had not yet determined how much water the center would use.
“I have not seen any studies that show us that there are massive leaks. And even if there is a leak, it leaks into the data center, it doesn’t leak out into the field,” Cynthia Thompson, an executive chairperson with CloudBurst, said in May.
According to the presentation’s backup documents, the company would attempt to use solar panels, low-level lighting and minimal water. The company said it would not build in a floodplain and would keep noise to a minimum. Thompson said the company is committed to preserving wildlife.
A key part of Thompson’s presentation was education on the need for more data centers.
“When you Google someone, when you take a picture, all that goes in the cloud, and so you need more data center space to hold that,” Thompson said. “We’re fulfilling a need in a community.”
“I don’t think there’s ever a perfect place when you’re building a data center,” she continued. “Never will you have 100% of the people happy.”
Credit: Source link
