BELLVILLE — Citizens from around Austin County packed the Austin County Courtroom on April 27 to air their comments during the public comments time for the regular session of the Austin County Commissioners Court in Bellville.
At issue is the potential for BESS (Battery Energy Storage Systems) and AI data centers to come into Austin County. More than 200 people came to listen and be heard. However, the commissioners cannot legally address any comments on public comments. Citizens took close to two hours, with most negative comments regarding BESS and the data center.
Two entities are looking to build in Austin County in the near future. Prior to the April 27 commissioners court, the commissioners court met on Feb. 23 to consider a moratorium on BESS and data centers. However, during a follow-up meeting on May 7, Austin County Judge Tim Lapham said, “You can’t completely ban something from the county because the state does not grant us that authority.”
During a commissioners court meeting on April 13, a public hearing was set for May 26 for an application for an AI data center facility owned and operated by Giga Energy. Giga Energy is proposing a 20-megawatt data center facility near Wallis. Giga Energy requested the public hearing.
Research shows that data centers are detrimental to water resources. It takes a vast amount of water and energy to continuously cool the units. Larger facilities can consume up to 5 million gallons of water daily, enough for a town of 10,000 to 50,000 residents. Water cooling systems often impact local water supplies and can release biocides and heavy metals into water systems. However, companies are increas- ingly researching more water-effi cient technologies, such as liquid cooling, closed-loop systems, and the use of non-potable water.
Other negative impacts include increased air, noise, and light pollution, as well as increased demand on the fragile electricity grid, thereby raising local rates.
