Does not compute: 4 Austin-area community leaders consider the future of data centers

Dozens of data center projects have been proposed across Central Texas, and how those projects shape the region’s land, economy and water resources will depend on how local leaders plan for their arrival.

But there is no consensus about what approach to take even among business leaders, Denise Davis, the board chair for the Austin Chamber of Commerce, said at the inaugural KUT Festival on Saturday.

Davis said the Austin Chamber is still trying to find its footing in the debate.

“I get that everyone has phones, and the average home has 20 devices, and I get that AI is powering everything, but I also have businesses that need electricity, and I need the grid to be reliable,” Davis said. “So I think it’s to be determined where the chamber comes down on the issue.”

Davis was joined on stage by Bradley Dushkin, Round Rock’s director of planning and development services, Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra and Carrie D’Anna, a Taylor resident and community organizer.

Dushkin said data centers have the opportunity to provide cities relief in the form of “ginormous” property tax contributions as local politicians struggle to provide community services amid budget constraints.

“We have a need to bring in these high-dollar, revenue generating, non-residential properties into the city so that we can help bring in that money and not have to rely on the property taxes generated by the residential side,” Dushkin said. “Having those large commercial properties helps us subsidize the tax rate across the city and keep the tax rate low for our residents.”

Dushkin said Round Rock’s budget is already a reflection of how data centers could do the heavy lifting for a city’s bottom line: commercial buildings only make up 8% of taxable properties in Round Rock, yet they generate nearly half of the city’s property tax revenue.

But many worry data centers will suck up too much water and power to be worth their property tax contributions.

Becerra said there’s “no good option” for data centers in Hays County, where extreme drought threatens its future water supply.

“Some of these systems are asking for a million gallons [of water] a day,” he said. “You can want ski slopes in San Marcos, but if we don’t have the snow, it’s not going to do you any good.”

Across Hays and Williamson counties, community activists like D’Anna have effectively ended some data center projects over such water and electricity concerns.

D’Anna said she’s noticed data center projects “strategically” planned out of the public eye. She created a Facebook group to keep people informed about the BPP data center proposal in Taylor, and with the help of other plugged-in community members, passed out flyers protesting a data center development in Hutto.

D’Anna said people in her neighborhood are “terrified” of how data centers could reshape Taylor.

“People who are building data centers, union workers, electricians, they want to sign our petition because they see the value in guidelines,” D’Anna said. “They love the technology. We don’t like how it’s being capitalized. We don’t like how it’s replacing us.”