BRAZORIA COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — A potential data center in Brazoria County is raising concerns among residents, who told ABC13 they’re being left in the dark.
Landowners in Damon said they noticed a company buying more than 400 acres along the Brazos River, which is when they started asking questions.
On Sunday, residents held a community meeting to discuss what they’ve found out so far.
“We got to fight. We got to stop it before it gets here,” one resident said.
They told ABC13 that the county district attorney’s office held a meeting earlier this month and showed them a map of seven parcels of land that included solar panels and batteries. Residents said that infrastructure pointed toward the potential for a data center.
“That means a data center which could have gas turbines, and that means 24 hours, seven days a week, 365 days a year, noise, lights, vibration,” Christine Clark, a concerned citizen, said.
Experts previously told ABC13 that Texas counties have few tools to stop these developments, particularly in unincorporated areas, where regulations and permitting hurdles are limited.
Residents said they’re concerned about what a potential project like this could mean for a place they say is rich in both wildlife and history.
“It concerns the dignity of our ancestors, the preservation of Black family heritage, and our rights to continue caring for our land that has sustained our family for generations,” one community member said.
Residents said the company buying the land is CleanSpark.
In January, CleanSpark announced an agreement to acquire up to 447 acres of land in Brazoria County that was “positioning the Company to develop a large-scale data center project.”
In its press release, CleanSpark called itself America’s Bitcoin Miner, a market-leading data center developer.
ABC13 reached out to the company for more information and is awaiting a response.
This comes as data centers continue to expand across Texas.
ABC13’s data team found that, as of February, 429 data centers were in the state. They found 293 were already operating, and the rest are planned or under construction.
Brazoria County residents hope the place they call home won’t join that growing list.
“We’re not giving up,” Clark said
“This story comes from our news partner ABC13 Houston.“