<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0iCi9t_1EnvFNDC00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0iCi9t_1EnvFNDC00" width="840" height="560" ><figcaption>Matt Ewalt, senior director of events at the Texas Tribune, introduces each member of the panel.</figcaption></figure>On Wednesday, the Abilene Chamber of Commerce held a meeting to address community questions about the region’s data centers. Water, sound pollution, energy costs and supply and demand issues were all discussed at the panel, which contained representatives from Google as well as local officials and former Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, who said that the goal of the event was to help clarify the benefits AI data centers have on communities.The overarching theme of the panel was how the expansion of A-I data centers is impacting affordability. Bush said the data centers are just one of many factors driving up costs."Politicians are leveraging and attacking, unjustifiably, data centers as the reason for cost of goods going up, whether it’s groceries, whether it’s fuel, when we have to take a step back and think about what’s happening in the rest of the world,” Bush said. “For example, the Strait of Hormuz and the war we are engaged in with Iran."Several members of the panel said the data centers are beneficial to Abilene because of the residents' “can-do” attitude, the jobs the center would provide, and the statewide and national visibility the facility brings to the city, and Abilene fits the AI companies because it is a good place to live, work and do business.Since the project was first announced, Taylor County commissioners approved a 20-year property tax abatement and<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=48VMab_1EnvFNDC00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=48VMab_1EnvFNDC00" width="840" height="560" ><figcaption>Laurie Clark, one of the demonstraters at the event and Taylor County Judge, Phil Crowley discuss data centers after the panel.</figcaption></figure>Abilene’s leaders agreed to other incentives to land the Stargate project. Those have also drawn criticism.Taylor County Judge Phil Crowley says regulating data centers is a challenge because counties have much less authority than cities, but more land available. This makes counties more desirable places to build these data centers. He told those gathered that tax abatements are an important tool the county has."I understand abatements are unpopular,” Crowley said, “But if people want counties that have control over data centers, you have to have an abatement because that is the only way you’re going to have any authority otherwise."Another point of concern for residents and state leaders is the huge amount of energy data centers require. Extreme cold overwhelmed the grid in 2021—and neither leaders nor residents want to experience that kind of mass power loss again. And residents fear that as demand rises, their energy bills will too.Doug Lewin, the lead of Texas energy market development for Google, acknowledged that the power grid failure posed a supply and demand problem. But he says Texas is creating more energy to match the needs of the state.“What we often don’t talk about when we talk about large loads coming to Texas is that there is a lot of generation coming to Texas too,”Lewin said. “Nobody is building as much power as the state of Texas”Power was just one of the concerns for a group of demonstrators who showed up at the panel who also shared concerns about water, affordability and local government transparency.Several of the protestors held signs opposing data centers and calling for more transparency from local government.Abilene Resident Molly Cedillo held a sign saying, “No More Backroom Data Center Deals.”<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=4Niw6h_1EnvFNDC00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4Niw6h_1EnvFNDC00" width="840" height="560" ><figcaption>Community members hold their signs, demonstrating their frustration with the data center.</figcaption></figure>She says that the data center is worsening the risk of homelessness by increasing the population, far beyond the limits of the local housing supply. And she says that demand for housing has driven housing and rental prices up.“Recently, a lady asked for help, and we came to find out that she was getting kicked out because her landlord got greedy,” Cedillo said. “It’s an elderly lady with bad knees raising children, and the landlord gets greedy and raises her rent.”Rents have doubled and even tripled across the area. Housing challenges in Abilene have also affected college students who are in need of affordable short-term rental options. This has led universities such as Abilene Christian to scramble to open up new housing options for students.To help curb the housing problem, the city is fast-tracking housing development processes and has approved the development of several new RV parks.The panel concluded with a 15-minute Q&amp;A, presenting the panel with questions that had been submitted by the audience.Google’s Doug Lewin addressed the housing issues caused by data centers, saying that Google has given $50,000 to help with homelessness in Abilene. That triggered a vocal reaction from the audience, which made clear the sum falls far short of the need. The meeting in Abilene was just one of a series of town hall-style panel discussions the Texas Tribune is hosting, culminating in The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin in late September.</div></body>

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On Wednesday, the Abilene Chamber of Commerce held a meeting to address community questions about the region’s data centers. Water, sound pollution, energy costs and supply and demand issues were all discussed at the panel, which contained representatives from Google as well as local officials and former Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush, who said that the goal of the event was to help clarify the benefits AI data centers have on communities.

Panel tackles persistent concerns around Abilene’s AI boom

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On Wednesday, the Abilene Chamber of Commerce held a meeting to address community questions about the region’s data centers. Water, sound pollution, energy

Panel tackles persistent concerns around Abilene’s AI boom

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