Clay County commissioners have made a preemptive move in the event any data center developers want to come to their county.
The Commissioners Court on Monday adopted a “Resolution Calling for Enhanced Regulation of Data Centers in the State of Texas.”
“I was trying to get ahead of a problem,” Clay County Judge Mike Campbell said. “No one has officially said, ‘We want to build a data center in Clay County,’ but we know it’s coming.”
Campbell said the resolution had two purposes.
“I wanted to make sure our community knew where we stood on data centers but also try to encourage our state Legislature to take action as well,” he said.
Archer County Judge Randall Jackson also said recently that he hopes the Legislature will add restrictions to state laws this year to protect his county against data center development.
The Clay County resolution said the county supports responsible economic development, including data centers, but it notes that counties lack regulatory tools available to municipalities, “despite being increasingly targeted for large-scale industrial and energy infrastructure development.”
Campbell said counties are virtually powerless against data centers.
“The reality is, if I wanted the data centers and loved them, I can’t make one come to Clay County. Conversely, if I hated them, I can’t keep them out,” he said.
Campbell said he has talked to some constituents and watched social media comments.
“It’s all negative towards data centers,” he said.
Campbell said residents have the same concerns that many in other counties have expressed, primarily water and electricity usage.
“We have water, but it’s had to find. It’s spotty,” he said. “One of the things that Clay County has is our power grid and the transmission lines that come across the county are attractive.”
Data center developers have laid plans in neighboring counties.
Skybox Datacenters of Dallas bought land in the Wichita Falls Business Park, Calvano Developers of San Francisco obtained a zoning change from the City Council to build one in north Wichita Falls, and Google intends to build one just west of Wichita Falls in Archer County.
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Clay County leaders take preemptive stance on data centers
Reporting by Lynn Walker, Wichita Falls Times Record News / Wichita Falls Times Record News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Lynn Walker, Wichita Falls Times Record News | USA TODAY Network
