Data Center Possibility Draws Scrutiny

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Data Center Possibility Draws Scrutiny

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Data center companies are often recruited by local economic development corporations, but opposed by local residents despite the opposition voiced in some communities about their construction. (Courtesy)
Data center companies are often recruited by local economic development corporations, but opposed by local residents despite the opposition voiced in some communities about their construction. (Courtesy)

The rampant online speculation about the construction of a data center in Harlingen has come into clearer focus as the Cameron County judge and the city’s mayor acknowledged such an interest exists while emphasizing no formal proposals are under consideration.

Harlingen Mayor Norma Sepulveda says she communicated with leaders in cities with data centers to learn the advantages and challenges of such a facility in your community. (Courtesy)
Harlingen Mayor Norma Sepulveda says she communicated with leaders in cities with data centers to learn the advantages and challenges of such a facility in your community. (Courtesy)

The property site for a possible data center is an 1,800-acre space adjacent to Valley International Airport and just outside of Harlingen’s city limits. This means any possible approval of a project at that site would fall under the purview of the Cameron County Commissioners Court.

Harlingen Mayor Norma Sepulveda said she recently met with Eneus Energy executives to discuss the possibility of the United Kingdom-based company building a data center near the airport.

“As I see it today, I do not see a direct benefit to our city,” Sepulveda said of the recent meeting. “If something affects our regional water supply, our utilities or surrounding infrastructure, it matters to Harlingen whether it sits just outside city limits or not.”

Meanwhile, the county’s economic development director has confirmed his office has been in discussions with an unnamed business interest about building a data center at the airport-area site. Ramiro Aleman, the county’s EDC director, stated in area media reports that the Electric Reliability Council of Texas and AEP-Texas are analyzing the power demands of a data center in Harlingen.

Data centers generate considerable amounts of tax revenues for communities but come with challenges with the volumes of water and electricity they require. (Courtesy)
Data centers generate considerable amounts of tax revenues for communities but come with challenges with the volumes of water and electricity they require. (Courtesy)

The acknowledgement of a data center possibility has left Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino and Mayor Sepulveda on the receiving end of vociferous criticism from local residents opposing such a project.   

“Mayor, we don’t want a data center here, not now and not ever,” one local resident, Inti Nayelli Salas told Sepulveda on the mayor’s Facebook page. “We are all for progressing and developing Harlingen, but only when it’s done with wisdom and integrity.”

Data Center Pushback

Opposition to data centers stems from the strain on local resources – most specifically water – that these facilities require. 

Harlingen Mayor Norma Sepulveda says a data center in the Harlingen area is a possibility, but that no formal proposals have come before local governments. (Courtesy)
Harlingen Mayor Norma Sepulveda says a data center in the Harlingen area is a possibility, but that no formal proposals have come before local governments. (Courtesy)

Large data centers can use up to five million gallons of water daily in the need to cool and power operations. The massive amounts of water are needed to prevent thousands of servers from overheating while processing, storing and transmitting data, especially for AI. Vast amounts of electric power are also needed for such facilities and they generate few new and permanent jobs in the communities where they are built.

Push back has been substantial nationally in several communities while data center proponents cite the benefits of these facilities increasing a local tax base and boosting funding for public services like schools and infrastructure projects. County Judge Trevino has said little beyond the need for “due diligence” in considering a data center in the county. The Harlingen mayor has repeatedly emphasized that she is studying what a data center would mean for the city and has not rejected the possibility out of hand.  

“I’m taking the time to learn and ask questions myself,” Sepulveda said in her Facebook posts. “Decisions of this scale require verified information, expert input and a formal public process before any conclusions are drawn.”

Data centers have become essential for providing the technology required by AI, but many communities host them due to considerable demands they require for water and electricity. (Courtesy)
Data centers have become essential for providing the technology required by AI, but many communities host them due to considerable demands they require for water and electricity. (Courtesy)

‘A Lot Of Noise’

The concerns about water usage are acute in a region like the Rio Grande Valley. 

There are chronic concerns about critically low reservoirs, rapid population growth and an agricultural industry that still requires high volumes of water despite its diminished size in the region. 

Proponents of data centers say these facilities mitigate water concerns by utilizing new technologies that use recycled wastewater and investing in replenishment projects which minimize reliance on freshwater resources. To that end, the WaterWorks System of Harlingen in early January announced it had reached an agreement to provide an unnamed company with more than 4.6 million gallons of effluent water a day for data center operations. 

The Harlingen WaterWorks System has reached an agreement with a company to provide over 4.5 million gallons of effluent water daily for a possible data center in the Harlingen area. (VBR)
The Harlingen WaterWorks System has reached an agreement with a company to provide over 4.5 million gallons of effluent water daily for a possible data center in the Harlingen area. (VBR)

The WaterWorks announcement was quickly followed by a city statement that “there are no data centers or similar facilities that have formally committed to locating in Harlingen.” The convergence of information and online speculation has at times vexed Mayor Sepulveda. In a recent post, she conceded “people are uneasy,” and at times overly reliant on “a lot of noise, a lot of assumptions and very few confirmed facts.”

“I’m not relying on AI-generated content or the influencer community as fact,” the mayor said. “If something isn’t right for our community, my vote will be no.”

The mayor detailed that she is in contact with other U.S. cities that are currently “living with data centers,” in learning what they got right and “those that wished they had slowed down.” Sepulveda says she is taking this time of study and analysis to work with the city attorney on local ordinances and how to legally pause data center proposals, as needed, for further consideration.

“That work is underway,” the mayor said in a recent update. “If any project ever formally comes before the city, we need guardrails in place before decisions are made.”

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