Data center eyeing site in OHH taxing district

Young County - long seen as a pass-through for massive power lines from West Texas to the Metroplex - appears to be attracting green energy companies looking to plug into those lines, as well as tech businesses that need green power.

Fueled by the surging population of Dallas-Fort Worth, representatives of solar and wind farms, a data center, and a large-scale lithium battery storage facility recently met with City of Graham officials and County Judge Win Graham to discuss locating new projects in Young County in the coming two years.

Judge Graham said the companies were drawn to Young County by its strategic location - near the Metroplex and beneath some of the state’s most significant energy transmission infrastructure.

The projects, if they come to fruition, could reshape the county’s economy, adding tens of billions of dollars in taxable value to the County’s tax base as well as hundreds of high-paying jobs, he said.

Judge Graham and the Graham team met last week with Stream Data Center of Dallas and Headwaters Site Development to discuss constructing a campus consisting of as many as 11 buildings near Graham.

The taxable value for each building would range from $1.5 billion to $2 billion, including the structure and computing equipment inside, Judge Graham said. The companies proposed an eight- to 12-year buildout period that would require 2,000 construction workers and ultimately create 200 permanent, full-time technician jobs paying approximately $80,000-150,000, he said.

Stream Data Centers had completed 26 data center campuses across the United States as of December 2024, according to its website.

If it is built, the data center campus could add more than $20 billion to the County’s tax rolls, a scale the Judge Graham compared to the economic impact of the Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant in Granbury.

“This is a total game changer,” Graham said.

The proposed site for the data center campus falls within both the Graham and Olney hospital taxing districts, meaning the County’s medical facilities stand to gain significantly from the development.

Judge Graham said he made it clear in negotiations that while the county is open to tax abatements, he will not support abatement requests from the hospital districts.

“The county can take one on the chin,” he said. “But our hospitals have to be funded.”

The campus also would attract new residents, increasing demand for housing in Graham, Olney, and Newcastle.

However, securing water for the facility could be a hurdle. The data center will require large quantities of water for cooling, a challenge in a county where water resources are sometimes scarce. Discussions with the City of Graham are underway to secure a water agreement, and the company may pay for upgrades to the water system, Judge Graham said. The developers must also conduct environmental studies, negotiate power agreements, and final ize tax incentives before breaking ground. If everything aligns, construction could begin within 12 to 24 months.

Young County’s position in the state’s power grid makes it an attractive location for both alternative energy and power-intensive industries like data centers.

“The reason they’re coming here is because of those giant power lines,” Judge Graham said. “We were stuck with all these transmission lines because we’re small and had fewer people to complain when they were built— but now, it could turn into a good thing.”

The County sits directly beneath the massive electrical corridors transporting wind power from West Texas to the Metroplex. Now, solar and wind developers are looking to tap into those lines, complementing ex- isting energy flows with additional capacity.

“When it’s sunny, solar farms generate power, and at night, the wind turbines take over,” Graham said. “That keeps a steady supply running through the transmission lines.”

The Plug Power hydrogen plant, currently under construction outside of Graham, played an important role in attracting the data center, he said. Stream Data said it plans to purchase sig- nificant amounts of hy drogen from Plug Power, making the facility a cornerstone of Young County’s green energy future.

“They are chasing green energy credits – wind, solar, hydrogen the green hydrogen is the hard one to find," Judge Graham said.

Last week, the County received an application for a tax abatement from Tapaderos Solar for a proposed solar power and battery storage facility in southwest Young County. The estimated project cost is $264.6 million, and it is expected to employ 150 people during peak construction, resulting in one permanent full-time job afterward.

Meanwhile, a second solar farm is in early development along Highway 380 between Graham and Bryson. The project, if completed, would benefit the Gra ham and Bryson school district, and the Graham Hospital. That project is in its early stages, he said.

Additionally, a largescale lithium battery storage facility is in preliminary discussions. The facility would store excess energy from the transmission lines and release it during peak demand periods, helping stabilize the grid.

Young County is also set to gain a share of a major wind farm expansion stretching across Throckmorton and Young counties, with roughly 20 percent of the new turbines located within Young County’s borders.

While the economic benefits of these proj ects are undeniable, not all residents are on board, he said. Local landowners and ranchers have long complained about wind farms, citing issues such as bird deaths, environmental damage from concrete foundations, and concerns over long-term maintenance if government subsidies disappear.

“The fear is that if the subsidies go away, these windmills could be abandoned in place,” Judge Graham said. “What do you do with these eyesores?”

Despite these concerns, the judge remains optimistic that the ben- efits will outweigh the drawbacks.

He asked Stream Data Services to develop a detailed impact study, which will include estimates of tax revenue, job creation, and infrastructure needs. They will present their findings to the Young County Commissioners Court in the coming months, where a decision on tax abatements and development agreements will be made, he said.