Community Ignored as Another Data Center Is Approved in Round Rock
Unanimous vote favors industrial expansion over community well-being in a city with two data centers already operating and seven others on the way
ROUND ROCK, Texas — In a stunning betrayal of the public trust, the Round Rock City Council voted unanimously Thursday night to approve a controversial rezoning ordinance, clearing the way for the Skybox AI data center on Old Settlers Boulevard.
Round Rock already hosts two data centers. Once Skybox and other approved projects are completed, the city will have nine data centers.
“The Round Rock City Council’s message was clear: corporate interests come before the well-being of the people they were elected to represent,” said Adrian Shelley, the Texas director of Public Citizen. “Council members ignored more than 3,000 petition signatures and a room full of residents who were unambiguous about their opposition to a data center they view as potentially contributing to a lower quality of life with little benefit to the community.”
Much of the local opposition has been organized by the grassroots group Protect Round Rock. The group’s founder slammed the council’s approval of yet another data center.
“If our neighbors can be ignored this completely, no home in this city is safe from industrial encroachment,” said Gary Oldham of Protect Round Rock. “The council may have given Skybox the green light, but they also energized an entire community that is committed to fighting future projects and will demand accountability for the corporations behind these facilities if they break any of their promises or cause harm to people or property.”
Driven by the AI boom, data centers have alarmed local communities due to their significant resource consumption. Data centers consume large amounts of electricity, reducing the energy supply for residents and raising prices. The computers require cooling systems that often depend on large amounts of water. The data centers are also pitched as creating jobs for a community. Still, once built, the facilities are often operated remotely or with a skeleton crew of only a few people.
Earlier this week, commissioners in Hood County appeared inclined to approve a one-year moratorium on industrial facilities, including data centers, to give the county time to develop regulations and study the impacts of data centers. However, Hood County commissioners narrowly rejected the moratorium, partly because of a last-minute threatening letter from a state senator, asking the state’s attorney general to sue the county if it went forward with the moratorium.