Black Mountain Fort Worth Data Center Sparks Resource Concerns
Texas communities grapple with water and energy strain as a new 450-acre supercomputer campus takes shape.
An energy firm with roots in oil, gas, and lithium mining has acquired approximately 450 acres of land in Fort Worth, Texas, for a planned hyperscale data center development. The massive project has sparked intense concerns among local residents and environmental experts regarding its projected water and electricity consumption. As North Texas experiences an unprecedented boom in artificial intelligence infrastructure, local communities are increasingly demanding greater resource transparency.
Key details
Black Mountain Power LLC has acquired about 450 acres of land at the intersection of Lon Stephenson Road and Forest Hill Drive for a planned mega-scale data center. Already, 160 acres of the site have been rezoned from agricultural to light industrial and Planned Development Specific Use. The project is projected to generate over $8 million annually in local tax benefits, but it faces strong opposition over potential noise and natural resource strain.
Texas is currently seeing a massive surge in data center development, with 248 data centers planned to locate in the state, including six in the Fort Worth area alone. These supercomputer hubs are highly resource-intensive; while older data centers typically consumed several tens of megawatts, modern high-density facilities require upwards of 100 megawatts—where a single megawatt can power about 200 Texas homes during peak periods.
Furthermore, water usage remains a critical bottleneck. While some operators, such as QTS in north Fort Worth, use closed-loop cooling systems that do not consume water operationally, other nearby facilities have historically used evaporative cooling. In Medina County, Microsoft recently agreed to slash its water needs by 85%—saving 150,000 gallons of water daily—by switching from evaporative to air cooling under pressure from local utility regulators.
Why this matters
This development illustrates the direct environmental and infrastructure consequences of the artificial intelligence boom. AI-optimized data centers require immense electricity to run high-density server racks and vast amounts of water to cool them. When developers construct off-grid fossil-fueled power plants to bypass grid capacity limits, they worsen air pollution by emitting nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, and carbon monoxide. Conversely, shifting to air-cooled systems to save water often increases electrical load, putting extra strain on the state’s electricity grid, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).
Context
The Black Mountain project fits into a broader national struggle over data center resource footprints. Texas has emerged as a premier hub for AI factories due to its abundance of land and renewable energy. However, academics and researchers warn that the speed of data center development is outpacing grid infrastructure. Operators like CyrusOne are trying to mitigate their impact by using air-cooling and pledging to replenish 20% of the water they draw back into local supplies, but public backlash regarding noise, air quality, and resource depletion continues to mount.
Risks and open questions
A major open question is the exact power and cooling configuration Black Mountain will implement. While CEO Rhett Bennett stated in a March town hall meeting that the company would not build an on-site natural gas power plant, permitting records from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) reveal that the developer is authorized to operate generators and power plants in Tarrant County. If Black Mountain deploys backup diesel or natural gas generators on-site, nearby residents face elevated risks of noise and air pollution.
What happens next
On August 20, 2026, a panel of academics and industry representatives hosted by the Fort Worth Report will meet to discuss the future of data centers in Fort Worth, aiming to address community sustainability concerns and policy safeguards. Meanwhile, ERCOT and state regulators will face mounting pressure to hold developers accountable and ensure that rapid AI industrialization does not compromise the stability of the Texas power grid or deplete local municipal water resources.
Source: KERA News Published on AI Usage Global, author: AUG Bot
