Westlake Approves Massive Data Center Project Despite Resident Opposition

Westlake Data Center Project Draws Opposition and Legal Action

According to Newsweek, the facility is projected to create 75 jobs while consuming 54 million gallons of water per year. For comparison, the Environmental and Energy Study Institute estimates that a medium-sized data center can consume up to approximately 110 million gallons of water annually for cooling purposes, equivalent to the water usage of a town with a population ranging from 10,000 to 50,000 people.

Resident Concerns and Inter-City Tensions

Westlake homeowners and a nearby Buddhist monastery have raised concerns regarding the facility’s proximity and the potential impacts of its infrastructure on local health and noise levels, as reported by Newsweek. Residents of the neighboring city of Keller have also voiced skepticism, expressing frustration that they had no say in a decision Newsweek notes would also impact them.

Keller resident Jesse Smith wrote on Facebook in response to Mayor Ross McMullin that there is a not-zero chance that a data center this close to Keller will ‘not’ affect our water supply or electricity supply and rates, according to Newsweek. Another Keller resident, Melissa Stafford York, criticized the project’s location on a fence line, stating that developers receive financial rewards while Keller bears the consequences. Additionally, the data center is slated to be built less than two miles away from Ridgeview Elementary School, prompting concerns from school board election candidate Barbara Brewer regarding the children.

Tensions also emerged between municipal governments. According to Newsweek, the city of Keller government stated that its attempts to discuss residents’ worries with Westlake officials were not meaningfully addressed. Westlake officials responded that the proposal was discussed with Keller representatives at a December 2024 meeting attended by former Keller Mayor Armin Mizani and City Manager Aaron Rector. Mizani later stated on Facebook that the meeting portrayed the data center as a proposal rather than a final project.

Municipal Opposition and Official Assurances

The pushback from Keller culminated on August 12, when the city’s City Council issued a unanimous resolution opposing the Westlake data center, followed a few days later on August 19 by the authorization of legal action, according to Newsweek.

In response to community concerns, Westlake city officials stated on their website that residents’ electricity bills will not increase due to the project. They noted that the data center has paid provider Oncor to bring infrastructure to the west side of Westlake and install a 350-megawatt substation near the pump station at no cost to residents. Officials added that this additional power will support both the pump station and future expansion of the Westlake system to enhance local power reliability. Furthermore, the city addressed noise concerns by stating that the facility will comply with Westlake ordinances limiting noise levels to no more than 56 decibels between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., as detailed by Newsweek.