This looks like it is moving forward. Would be a huge boost to the tax base of Lacy Lakeview, Connally ISD, MCC, and the county.

https://wacotrib.com/news/local/government-politics/article_187b88c9-05b5-42de-b6c4-2398d57e7a18.html#tracking-source=home-top-story

Big12Bear said:

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Nonsense. They use way way way more than a golf course. And it's nonstop. I'm not even one of those eco loons, but these things are really bad by any metric that doesn't involve padding the coffers.

Neighboring Hill County has already put a moratorium on them, Many more to follow. But they are trying to ram these things through without proper vetting at lightning speed.

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Not really.....they are in the same ballpark

[mid-sized data center can use over 100 million gallons annually, roughly equaling the consumption of 1,000 U.S. households.]

[A typical 18-hole golf course uses an average of 300,000 to 312,000 gallons of water daily, totaling over 90 million gallons per year]

Would be interesting to see how much Baylor uses....probably well over both of them

The real problem with Data centers is they are God awful ugly (but of course most of what modern architects build is ugly. And being close to any center like that is bad for human health...but of cause most industrial stuff is bad as well.

PS

All the Data centers in the country don't even come to a fraction of the water use that golf courses take up....

[On a national scale, U.S. golf courses consume over 500 billion gallons of water annually, whereas all U.S. data centers combined consumed about 17.4 billion gallons in 2023]

Aren't most of these data centers building their own power plant?

Mr Tulip said:

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For Baylor University, you get a renown educational institution in your town. You get students, professors, other employees, and community engagement. There's a tremendous return.

Even for the golf course (which aren't exactly your shining beacon of responsible land use), you get golf pros, maintenance, facilities, and the ability to play golf, if that's your thing.

For a data center, you get 10 permanent jobs and a way to generate wealth for people who don't live there.

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I think it really depends on the project. Some of these "data center" projects are being built in conjunction with power plants, manufacturing facilities, and other operations that will bring lots of good paying jobs. Plus you get the property taxes.

But, yeah, you're not going to see one go up in Highland Park. Lacy Lakeview on the other hand...

Mr Tulip said:

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For Baylor University, you get a renown educational institution in your town. You get students, professors, other employees, and community engagement. There's a tremendous return.

Even for the golf course (which aren't exactly your shining beacon of responsible land use), you get golf pros, maintenance, facilities, and the ability to play golf, if that's your thing.

For a data center, you get 10 permanent jobs and a way to generate wealth for people who don't live there.

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They are a good idea for small or low income communities that need a source of income.

Since they pay property taxes

[Data centers can pay millions in annual property taxes, with payments often ranging from hundreds of thousands to over $10 million for large hubs]

They just look ugly and we are not sure yet of the correct distance they need to be from humans to not cause health problems.

Mr Tulip said:

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Yeah. Texas just goes ahead and rebates those taxes:

https://www.texastribune.org/2026/04/08/texas-data-centers-sales-tax-break-billion-dollars/

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Gosh…..

Well, without stupid tax policy I guess I would augmented my statement…they could be a good idea.

But not if you are just giving them back that tax money

Mr Tulip said:

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For Baylor University, you get a renown educational institution in your town. You get students, professors, other employees, and community engagement. There's a tremendous return.

Even for the golf course (which aren't exactly your shining beacon of responsible land use), you get golf pros, maintenance, facilities, and the ability to play golf, if that's your thing.

For a data center, you get 10 permanent jobs and a way to generate wealth for people who don't live there.

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But MCC, McLennan County, and Connally ISD are going to get a lot of that money through taxes. Will have a huge impact. Not to mention Lacy Lakeview could cut its tax rate and still catch up all their infrastructure problems. I understand the people that would live right next to it, but for the overall community, it is an A+ no brainer.

Robert Wilson said:

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Aren't most of these data centers building their own power plant?

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I think the LL data center will generate its own power or at least a lot of it and will recycle waste water and not have to draw much water at all. That is why they are interested in partnering with Lacy Lakeview. LL can sell its waste water which the data center will treat and recycle much like a car wash does.

Mr Tulip said:

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Yeah. Texas just goes ahead and rebates those taxes:

https://www.texastribune.org/2026/04/08/texas-data-centers-sales-tax-break-billion-dollars/

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That's an article about a sales tax exemption passed in 2013 (before the recent data center craze, but still has requirements re: creating jobs at above median wages), and that exemption may be on the ropes politically.

They'll probably also get some property tax abatements locally, but they will still pay lots of property taxes.

CorsicanaBear said:

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Friends don't let friends read the Texas Tribune.

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I tried to find a relevant source at OAN, but all they had was pictures of an oiled up Pete Hegseth making "Grrr!" faces.

Anyway, here's Gallup's poll: https://news.gallup.com/poll/709772/americans-oppose-data-centers-area.aspx

Nobody wants bit barns near them. They'd rather have a nuclear reactor (considering how both operate, that's understandable).

Keep in mind, AI isn't sustainable like this. There is no 2nd place in the AI world. That is, only the current "best of breed" top model gets the business. When your $50billion investment is overtaken by someone else's buildout, you're useless. There's no depreciation or ROI. It's just shot.

This isn't the Amazon facility where people will work there. Once finished, these things are autonomous. If Texas collected revenue off of them, I could mellow my position a bit, but historically Texas gives away everything (and then some) to its rich friends. That's why all the players are eager to break ground before someone notices (putting it nicely).

As a Landman/Rancher/Solar Farm dude/Conservative, It's a good thing. Amen.

Robert Wilson said:

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Mr Tulip said:

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Yeah. Texas just goes ahead and rebates those taxes:

https://www.texastribune.org/2026/04/08/texas-data-centers-sales-tax-break-billion-dollars/

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That's an article about a sales tax exemption passed in 2013 (before the recent data center craze, but still has requirements re: creating jobs at above median wages), and that exemption may be on the ropes politically.

They'll probably also get some property tax abatements locally, but they will still pay lots of property taxes.

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you say the exemption 'may' be on the ropes politically. it will be interesting to see what happens because if the data centers don't pay property tax, and I'd lave to see the valuations for property tax purposes, but if they don't then they aren't much of an economic boon for the local community. I do know some construction companies are making good money right now with specialty equipment for data centers, so it is helping some other Texas businesses.

Redbrickbear said:

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Big12Bear said:

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Nonsense. They use way way way more than a golf course. And it's nonstop. I'm not even one of those eco loons, but these things are really bad by any metric that doesn't involve padding the coffers.

Neighboring Hill County has already put a moratorium on them, Many more to follow. But they are trying to ram these things through without proper vetting at lightning speed.

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Not really.....they are in the same ballpark

[mid-sized data center can use over 100 million gallons annually, roughly equaling the consumption of 1,000 U.S. households.]

[A typical 18-hole golf course uses an average of 300,000 to 312,000 gallons of water daily, totaling over 90 million gallons per year]

Would be interesting to see how much Baylor uses....probably well over both of them

The real problem with Data centers is they are God awful ugly (but of course most of what modern architects build is ugly. And being close to any center like that is bad for human health...but of cause most industrial stuff is bad as well.

PS

All the Data centers in the country don't even come to a fraction of the water use that golf courses take up....

[On a national scale, U.S. golf courses consume over 500 billion gallons of water annually, whereas all U.S. data centers combined consumed about 17.4 billion gallons in 2023]

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but that is besides the point, right? Lots of golf courses in areas that aren't going to get data centers, like Houston Oaks and River Oaks country club. But less populated areas that rely on local ground water or aquifers have a whole set of different issues when it comes to water.

I'm not saying that in and of itself should stop a data center, but there are likely other alternatives to cooling and humidity that could be implemented at maybe slightly more cost but also less impactful to the local pop...

bularry said:

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Robert Wilson said:

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Mr Tulip said:

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Yeah. Texas just goes ahead and rebates those taxes:

https://www.texastribune.org/2026/04/08/texas-data-centers-sales-tax-break-billion-dollars/

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That's an article about a sales tax exemption passed in 2013 (before the recent data center craze, but still has requirements re: creating jobs at above median wages), and that exemption may be on the ropes politically.

They'll probably also get some property tax abatements locally, but they will still pay lots of property taxes.

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you say the exemption 'may' be on the ropes politically. it will be interesting to see what happens because if the data centers don't pay property tax, and I'd lave to see the valuations for property tax purposes, but if they don't then they aren't much of an economic boon for the local community. I do know some construction companies are making good money right now with specialty equipment for data centers, so it is helping some other Texas businesses.

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They will pay lots of property taxes.

And locals are making a ton of money right now on construction, land sales and everything that goes along with that, with other Texans making lots of money putting together/selling water rights, power generation, nat gas, etc. Depends on the particular project, but there is a mountain of money flowing into this state right now thanks to these projects, at least some of which will continue to create lots of jobs downstream. Lots of money flowing into white collar coffers, but also lots of locals making generational money selling old farmland for 5-10x what they thought it would ever be worth, plus all the service providers they're employing. The economic impact at the moment is huge.

Now, I also don't want to live by one, and at the same time most of the ones I'm familiar with are being built in rural enough areas that almost no one lives near them. But some of those will turn into little tech communities because of the downstream jobs.

I'm not saying they're all great, but on balance I think the states that are active here are doing much better by their citizens than the states that are throwing on the brakes.

The answer to the data center issue is for them to just pay nearby residents a % of the revenue generated. That would shut everyone up.

If AI is gonna take the jobs anyways, might as well start that Universal Basic Income now.

Jackson Bear said:

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This looks like it is moving forward. Would be a huge boost to the tax base of Lacy Lakeview, Connally ISD, MCC, and the county.

https://wacotrib.com/news/local/government-politics/article_187b88c9-05b5-42de-b6c4-2398d57e7a18.html#tracking-source=home-top-story

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False.

Data Centers get so many tax breaks that none of the communities that have allowed them have seen any increase in tax revenue.

Yogi said:

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I understand the concern about them, but some of it seems silly. For example, water use. Dara centers use only a fraction of what golf courses use. And have you seen how much electricity that places like Baylor, Amazon, and even Wrigley Mars use? I think the weirdest thing about them is we just don't know their long term impacts on a community just because they are such a new thing. But like other new things, things will play out over time.

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It isn't just straight water usage people have a problem with. It is the water and electricity usage in connection to the breaks they are getting. Some of the data centers are paying much less than the average house or business for their water or electricity usage while the surrounding community is seeing an increase.

The other issue is that golf courses are not going up everywhere while the data centers are and often are going in areas that don't have a golf course. No reason for someone in Robinson to get upset about a golf course but there is if a data center is proposed for their city.

Jackson Bear said:

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Mr Tulip said:

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For Baylor University, you get a renown educational institution in your town. You get students, professors, other employees, and community engagement. There's a tremendous return.

Even for the golf course (which aren't exactly your shining beacon of responsible land use), you get golf pros, maintenance, facilities, and the ability to play golf, if that's your thing.

For a data center, you get 10 permanent jobs and a way to generate wealth for people who don't live there.

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But MCC, McLennan County, and Connally ISD are going to get a lot of that money through taxes. Will have a huge impact. Not to mention Lacy Lakeview could cut its tax rate and still catch up all their infrastructure problems. I understand the people that would live right next to it, but for the overall community, it is an A+ no brainer.

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Part of the biggest problem is that the appraised value of a data center is not as high as it should be because the formula used is still old and doesn't know how to calculate for virtual value.

Riesel now in the cross hairs. The coal plant did not provide tax revenue that was projected.

Yogi said:

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I understand the concern about them, but some of it seems silly. For example, water use. Dara centers use only a fraction of what golf courses use. And have you seen how much electricity that places like Baylor, Amazon, and even Wrigley Mars use? I think the weirdest thing about them is we just don't know their long term impacts on a community just because they are such a new thing. But like other new things, things will play out over time.

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This. So much of the tech doesn't even use much water. While the US Govt (DC) has done to save and help all, the difference in a lot of state economies is who welcomes the future and who doesn't. I'm all for them

cowboycwr said:

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Yogi said:

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I understand the concern about them, but some of it seems silly. For example, water use. Dara centers use only a fraction of what golf courses use. And have you seen how much electricity that places like Baylor, Amazon, and even Wrigley Mars use? I think the weirdest thing about them is we just don't know their long term impacts on a community just because they are such a new thing. But like other new things, things will play out over time.

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It isn't just straight water usage people have a problem with. It is the water and electricity usage in connection to the breaks they are getting. Some of the data centers are paying much less than the average house or business for their water or electricity usage while the surrounding community is seeing an increase.

The other issue is that golf courses are not going up everywhere while the data centers are and often are going in areas that don't have a golf course. No reason for someone in Robinson to get upset about a golf course but there is if a data center is proposed for their city.

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Most data centers of any size are building their own in-house power generation and buying their own nat gas or hydrogen to fuel them.

Robert Wilson said:

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cowboycwr said:

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Yogi said:

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I understand the concern about them, but some of it seems silly. For example, water use. Dara centers use only a fraction of what golf courses use. And have you seen how much electricity that places like Baylor, Amazon, and even Wrigley Mars use? I think the weirdest thing about them is we just don't know their long term impacts on a community just because they are such a new thing. But like other new things, things will play out over time.

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It isn't just straight water usage people have a problem with. It is the water and electricity usage in connection to the breaks they are getting. Some of the data centers are paying much less than the average house or business for their water or electricity usage while the surrounding community is seeing an increase.

The other issue is that golf courses are not going up everywhere while the data centers are and often are going in areas that don't have a golf course. No reason for someone in Robinson to get upset about a golf course but there is if a data center is proposed for their city.

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Most data centers of any size are building their own in-house power generation and buying their own nat gas or hydrogen to fuel them.

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Now yes. But existing ones do not. And right now from what I have seen that is the "claim" but it isn't happening.

And many are being proposed without any mention of their own power sources.

They've already figured out how to make mini data centers and also the future is putting data centers in outer space.

The big ones are ugly like windmill and solar farms