Summary: For the last decade Texas, especially North Texas, has been one of the country’s epicenters of data center growth. Just this week, the new Trump administration announced plans to add $500B to start building out data centers, especially in Texas. And Fort Worth already has plans to attract those funds. Just 25 miles from Willow Park, off I35W, just south of I20, a 141.7-acre data center site will provide a projected $18 million in tax revenue to the Everman ISD.
Latest Update: 23 January 2025
Data Centers are part of the stampede headed to Texas, the DFW area, and east Parker County.
The new Trump administration is already planning to add $500B "to start building out data centers and the electricity generation needed for the further development of the fast-evolving AI in Texas" via the new private Stargate partnership. [1]
For the last decade, "Texas, especially North Texas, remains one of the country’s epicenters of data center growth." Recent data centers building or adding data capacity to North Texas include Microsoft Corp., QTS Realty Trust, Databank, Softbank, Meta / Facebook, and Google. [2]
The Comptroller of Texas maintains a list of currently over 75 data centers in Texas [4], and the U.S. Census reports, "the two most populous states have the nation’s highest share of data center employment: 17% in California and 10% in Texas." Employment is uneven within states, too, with nearly 75% of the Texas datacenter employment in four counties (Travis, Bexar, Collin and Dallas).[5]
And ERCOT "estimates 40,000 MW more load online by 2030 than last year's projection. The load growth is driven by population and economic growth, particularly in the form of crypto mining and data centers." [7]
And that data center growth is stampeding toward Parker County and Willow Park. In December Willow Park Civics reported, 15 miles from Willow Park, Google leases 1.1 million-square-foot in 520-acre Business Park. [3]
In addition, this month -- just 25 miles from Willow Park, off I35W, just south of I20 -- the City of Fort Worth Council approved a 141.7-acre data center site, that will provide a projected $18 million in tax revenue to the Everman Independent School District. [6]
As with all human growth, some see progress and some see destruction, but none has been able to stop human growth for long.
"Neighbors had concerns about the project, but the zoning change to planned development with a specific use zoning was approved with a site plan requirement, an item residents supported." [8]
"Cheryl Shadden doesn’t see herself as an activist. But when a controversy over cryptocurrency landed on her front doorstep, Shadden said, she became a 'redneck warrior.'" [8]
Data centers in the DFW area... and population and commercial growth... present significant challenges for electricity generation, transmission, and distribution while the "Majority of Texans say an electrical grid failure could come this summer, as ERCOT predicts Texas electricity demand could nearly double in six years." [8]
Willow Park Sources and Resources
[1] Trump highlights partnership investing $500 billion in AI, AP Associated Press, 21 January 2025, Excerpts.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Tuesday talked up a joint venture investing up to $500 billion for infrastructure tied to artificial intelligence by a new partnership formed by OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank.
The new entity, Stargate, will start building out data centers and the electricity generation needed for the further development of the fast-evolving AI in Texas, according to the White House. The initial investment is expected to be $100 billion and could reach five times that sum.
[1] Trump, Dubai Billionaire Unveil $20 Billion for US Data Centers, Badlands News Brief, 08 January 2025
President-elect Donald Trump announced an investment of at least $20 billion from Hussain Sajwani, the head of Damac Group, to build new data centers in the US.
Trump said the first phase of the investments would be in the states of ➜, Arizona, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan and Indiana, painting it as critical to keeping the US competitive in emerging technologies.
“The investment will support massive new data centers across the Midwest, the Sun Belt area, and also to keep America on the cutting edge of technology and artificial intelligence,” Trump said at a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida on Tuesday.
Trump vowed to help move the deal quickly through the environmental and permitting process and cast it as the result of his election victory, saying his return to power was encouraging foreign business leaders to invest in the US.
“We’re planning to invest $20 billion and even more than that if the opportunity, the market, allow us,” Sajwani said. – Bloomberg
[2] Trump Unveils $20 Billion Data Center Initiative, With Texas As Phase One Target, Dallas Express, 09 January 2025
President-elect Donald Trump announced on Tuesday a multi-billion dollar initiative to expand data center footprints throughout the United States, with Texas targeted in phase one.
The first phase will see the investment focused on Texas, along with Arizona, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, and Indiana.
While it is unclear how the investment will be allocated, Texas, especially North Texas, remains one of the country’s epicenters * of data center growth. *
* DFW Named Top Emerging Tech Market, Dallas Express, 28 July 2023
* North Texas Ranked High for Data Centers, Dallas Express, 25 March 2023
Last month, The Dallas Express reported that Microsoft Corp. and QTS Realty Trust LLC, based in Kansas, are collectively building over one million square feet of new data center space in the region.
DataBank recently announced it will expand its existing data center campus in Ellis County. The $265 million project is expected to produce an additional 425,000-square-foot facility. And in August, Google announced it would invest $1 billion in the Lone Star State to expand cloud and data center capabilities in Texas.
North Texas’ large tracts of open land, as well as its abundant and affordable energy, make it an ideal location for data centers. According to Bloomberg, QTS projects that over two dozen data centers, mainly in the United States, will use roughly six gigawatts. That’s enough energy to power 4.5 million homes.
[3] 15 miles from Willow Park, Google leases 1.1 million-square-foot in 520-acre Business Park. Willow Park Civics Blog, posted 19 December 2024
[4] Data Centers in Texas > Comptroller of Texas,
[5] Employment in Data Centers Increased by More Than 60% From 2016 to 2023 But Growth Was Uneven Across the United States, U.S. Census, 06 January 2025
Employment in U.S. data centers — facilities that house the computer systems that store and manage data — increased more than 60% nationally from 2016 to 2023 but growth was uneven across the country, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Quarterly Workforce Indicators (QWI).
The number of people working in data centers grew from 306,000 to 501,000 between 2016 and 2023, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But the QWI shows where the growth is concentrated and provides a profile of data center workers.
The map... shows the concentration of data center employment by state across the United States. Not surprisingly, the two most populous states have the nation’s highest share of data center employment: 17% in California and 10% in Texas.
Employment was uneven within states, too.
Over 40% of U.S. data center employment are in five states: California, Texas, Florida, New York and Georgia.
In California, for example, three counties (San Francisco, Los Angeles and Santa Clara) accounted for 60% of the state’s data center employment. In Texas, nearly 75% was in four counties (Travis, Bexar, Collin and Dallas).
[6] Fort Worth annexes 152 acres for mixed-use retail and grocery store near Clearfork, Fort Worth Report, 15 January 2025
Two major new developments — a mixed-use retail development with a grocery store and a data center that will provide millions in revenue to the Everman school district — will move forward after earning Fort City Council approval Jan. 14.
Council members also approved a data center at the southeast corner of Lon Stephenson Road and Forest Hill Drive. [Off I35W just south of I20 25 miles from Willow Park.]
The 141.7-acre site, in a south Fort Worth neighborhood near Forest Hill and Everman, was supported by 43 neighbors and would provide about $18 million in tax revenue to the Everman Independent School District.
Neighbors had concerns about the project, but the zoning change to planned development with a specific use zoning was approved with a site plan requirement, an item residents supported.
[7] Article: ERCOT Announces ‘New Era of Planning’ to Cope with Electricity Demand as 2030 Estimate Grows, Willow Park Civics Blog, posted, 10 May 2024
"The new report estimates 40,000 MW more load online by 2030 than last year's projection. The load growth is driven by population and economic growth, particularly in the form of crypto mining and data centers.
[8] North Texas welcomes new cryptocurrency investment. Residents say the cost is high, Fort Worth Report, 16 September 2024
Cheryl Shadden doesn’t see herself as an activist. But when a controversy over cryptocurrency landed on her front doorstep, Shadden said, she became a “redneck warrior.”
In 2022, a large Bitcoin mining operation was established at Constellation Energy’s Wolf Hollow power plant, a quarter-mile from where Shadden lives. The mine runs day and night. Nearly 23,000 fan-cooled computers are trying to crack the right algorithm and solve complex math problems to get just one Bitcoin, the globe’s most well-known cryptocurrency.
[8] Majority of texans say an electrical grid failure could come this summer, as ERCOT predicts Texas electricity demand could nearly double in six years., Willow Park Civics Blog, posted, 27 June 2024
"Data centers in the DFW [Dallas-Fort Worth] area; semiconductors in Central Texas; industrial electrification in the Houston, Beaumont, and Port Arthur areas; oil and gas electrification in the Permian [Basin]; and population and commercial growth throughout our state present significant challenges for generation, transmission, and distribution,”
[8] Article: Texas Taxpayers Forced to Tithe at Facebook ‘Temple’ Willow Park Civics Blog, posted 13 April 2022
A 900,000-square-foot Hyperscale Data Center for the technology giant Meta, formerly Facebook, was announced late last month. Temple will house the second Meta data center in Texas, with the first located in Fort Worth.
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