By Kayleen Holder
Editor
In a packed house, the Devine City council, zoning commission, as well as two of our local county representatives took time to listen to the concerns, questions, and thoughts of local citizens in regards to impending and ongoing data center development in the Devine area and Medina County in general–and there were a lot. A total of about 60 people signed up to speak, most of them local city and county residents.
“We are here to look at both the opportunity and the risk based on facts,” Mayor Butch Cook said before opening up the podium.
The co-founder of Texas Energy Group, Ryan Nuckolls, gave a presentation on the facility’s projected plans. He discussed water use, and plans to produce half of the power the site will use by building a gas-powered power plant on site. So the 800 Megawatt site (which is the largest in Medina County), will rely half on the electric grid, and half on power produced by its own power plant using natural gas.
The City has two major things to decide on: Will it annex? And will it offer tax abatements?
Nuckolls declined to provide his contact information for additional questions, but stated the company wants to be part of the community and answer the community’s questions.
He stated that there would be 8-9 buildings on the site including an electrical substation and a power plant. When asked if they owned the property or leased the property, he said his company has the “developer rights” and he was unsure who the actual customer coming into the site would be.
“Who owns it? Who will run it? Who are we going to be dealing with for the rest of our lives?” local resident Heather Yanta asked.
“A hyperscaler data center operator will eventually come in and own the property,” Nuckolls said, noting they had several reputable clients.
TX Energy Group’s presentation stated that the entire facility is projected to use the 1.7 million gallons for the initial fill, though it will be staggered, and that won’t need to be replaced for approximately 15 years–except for a 2% evaporation rate which is an annual evaporation rate according to Nuckolls.
The developer stated the closest building on the site will be about “5,000 feet away from the closest community in Devine”. The site is a half mile from Devine City limits on Hwy 132 near the intersection of I-35.
Developers stated they would try to route traffic down I-35, and not through downtown Devine.
TJ Richardson was one of many residents who spoke.
“They are going to ask a lot of us, and so we need to ask a lot of them,” Richardson said.
Former County Commissioner Jerry Beck suggested that the center use “effluent water (treated water) that’s spit out of the sewer plant”. There are in fact, some data centers that do use effluent water so this appears to be a viable option if council pursued it.
Some speakers suggested that local leaders…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $36 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!
