The Taylor City Council in Texas voted 5-0 on Thursday 8 October 2026 to approve a development agreement for a planned data-centre and power-plant campus. The vote is confirmed. The land is still outside the city, and the size and timing figures are the developers’ own claims.
What the council approved
Confirmed (KUT, CBS Austin, Taylor Press). KUT reports that the council “voted unanimously to approve an agreement with Big Watt Digital and PowerHouse Data Centers to annex their planned 664-acre development, Taylor Technology Campus, located just outside city limits” [1]. CBS Austin says: “The proposed agreement passed 5-0” [2]. The site, formerly called Project Mustang, lies “between FM 112 and U.S. 79” [2].
CBS Austin reports that, per city leaders, the agreement sets requirements on “water use, noise, lighting and setbacks” [2]. Council members and staff told KUT that without it the city “would have no authority over the project, which currently sits in an unincorporated part of Williamson County” [1]. Many residents objected; more than 20 speakers opposed it [1][3].
Annexation is still ahead
Annexation means a city takes land inside its limits to tax and regulate it. The Taylor Press says the developers “will voluntarily request annexation” and that the site is “expected to be annexed” [3]. CBS Austin describes the agreement as bringing the property within city limits; KUT and the Taylor Press describe annexation as still to come, and TSN follows them. The vote also “locks in the project with the development guidelines now in place”, days before a 13 October zoning meeting on new data-centre guidelines [3].
What the developers claim
From the developers’ release, all company claims: the campus has the “potential to deliver up to one gigawatt of hyperscale data center capacity” (a gigawatt is 1,000 megawatts), with “dedicated, behind-the-meter power generation”, meaning a power plant that serves the campus directly. The developers are “targeting first power availability in the first half of 2028”. The release mentions “leading hyperscaler customers” but names none.
On money, the Taylor Press says “a third-party consultant hired by the developers” projected $1.38 billion in city tax revenue from 2027 to 2046, and that the project gets no city or county tax incentives [3]. CBS Austin attributes a $1.38 billion estimate to city “Officials” [2].
What this does not show
- No customer is named, and nothing here shows the gigawatt or the 2028 date will be met.
- The plant’s size and fuel are not given in the release text TSN read. An opponent told the Taylor Press the fight is not over and pointed to a state environmental permit process [3].
- TSN has not read the agreement itself.
Related: TSN’s thread on local data-centre pauses and who pays for AI’s power.
The Bottom Line
Taylor’s council has approved terms for a large data-centre and power-plant campus to join the city. The land is not yet annexed, and the gigawatt, the 2028 date and the tax figures rest on the developers’ word.
Related on TSN: AI data centres on public lands: Wilderness Society calls for a pause · Who Pays for AI’s Power? Duke’s Data-Centre Deal, Google in Indiana and the Rush to On-Site Gas
Sources
- Kailey Hunt, “Taylor City Council approves deal to clear the way for a nearby data center and power plant“, KUT 90.5, 9 October 2026 (public radio; vote, “no authority” quote, $28.2 million).
- Erin Slaughter, “Taylor City Council greenlights 664-Acre Data Center Project“, CBS Austin, 8 October 2026, 9:21 p.m. CDT (5-0 vote, location, agreement terms).
- Edie Zuvanich, “Power plant, data center agreement approved“, Taylor Press, 9 October 2026 (annexation, tax projection, speakers, 13 October meeting).
