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Giga Energy outlines small AI data center near Royce City; residents press water, noise and traffic concerns
Summary
Giga Energy presented plans for a 30-acre, 100,000-sq.-ft. micro data center campus (60 MW load) just outside Royce City and answered extensive questions about water use, sound mitigation, power sourcing and tax benefits. Residents sought enforceable guarantees, environmental tests and clearer answers about long-term impacts.
Brent Whitehead, cofounder and COO of Giga Energy, introduced the company's BT Gateway micro data center project and its rationale for siting on a 30-acre parcel near Royce City on County Road 2656. Whitehead said Giga would build a roughly 100,000-square-foot metal building on about 20 acres, operate a closed-loop glycol cooling system that the company says requires a one-time fill and minimal ongoing water, and rely on existing Farmers Electric distribution capacity rather than building large new transmission infrastructure. He said construction would be completed in roughly 12 months with energization targeted for mid-2027 and estimated an annual county tax contribution of about $7.2 million.
The presentation emphasized mitigation measures: a 12-foot (planned to be higher) sound wall with landscaping to screen the facility, ground-mounted chillers positioned to radiate sound upward, a temporary sound wall during construction, detention ponds to manage stormwater runoff, downward-facing lighting, dust-mitigation during civil work, and the use of local contractors during the build. Giga representatives said the site would support AI compute (inference/training workloads) and that the firm owns, builds and operates its facilities.
Commissioners and residents probed technical details. County elected officials asked whether the project uses existing cooperative capacity, whether ERCOT or utility load studies had been completed, and how the projected $7.2 million in annual taxes is calculated and distributed among county and local taxing entities. Giga said BT Gateway (a land-and-power broker) arranged the initial site and that Giga purchased the project; it said load studies were completed with the utility and that the company would provide a tax-breakdown at a town hall.
On water, Giga's team said the primary cooling would operate on a closed-loop glycol system that is filled by truck and that the company estimates initial water fill and minor maintenance equal to the annual household-equivalent of about 2.5 homes (for domestic uses), while water for fire suppression would come from an on-site tank (Nader Anasazi, Giga civil engineer, said there would be a 90,000-gallon tank dedicated to fire protection). The presenters said they were exploring options including trucked water, rainwater capture, or municipal water upgrades and that they would not draw municipal supply absent agreement; they offered to pay for infrastructure upgrades if needed so neighbors could share access.
Residents raised concerns at length: potential noise from chillers and periodic generator testing, decibel levels at property lines, generator emissions and the fate of flushed closed-loop glycol water, 24/7 construction traffic on a rural dirt road, nighttime light impacts and potential downward pressure on nearby property values. Several requested enforceable covenants, public release of environmental and sound studies, annual monitoring and legally binding remediation or buyout commitments. Giga responded that it uses third-party environmental and habitat studies; that the company conducts annual reporting to regulators; that generators and mechanical equipment would be housed in sound-attenuated enclosures; and that the company will share test results and host a town hall with breakout sessions on water, sound, traffic and emergency services.
Giga committed to fire-department coordination, joint training with neighboring data facilities, assistance with equipment procurement for volunteer departments, and a public town-hall meeting in the coming weeks to present engineers' sound and environmental studies and a more detailed traffic plan. Commissioners urged Giga to supply written material in advance so the public and county staff can evaluate tradeoffs.
The court did not take formal action on the project during the meeting; Giga said the town hall will provide additional detail and documentation, and residents asked the company to post study results and a contact email for follow-up questions.
