Data centers in Angelina County, Texas: 2 projects mapped

Residents organized as soon as the news broke, objecting to light, noise, air and water pollution, property values and any tax abatement. In May they were barred from speaking about it at a Lufkin City Council meeting because it was not on the agenda. When dozens came to a Commissioners Court meeting in June, Wright told them the county could not stop it: "We have no authority to do a moratorium or stop any type of development in the county. Texas legislators have consciously limited what counties can do, and they've done it on purpose. They don't trust us." His only leverage, he said, is the tax abatement Denver-based AmpZ Champion Data Center Holdings wants, which he would tie to noise limits, landscape buffers and cleanup bonds. Shelley Tatum, a Democratic candidate for Texas House District 9, urged the court to refuse any abatement, predicting the building would stand empty within ten years.

A second project went ahead with no county vote. HyperDataGrid, a Texas company that builds 20-megawatt liquid-cooled facilities, is developing a data center on the former Northern Chip Mill site on Ben Dunn Road off Highway 103 West; Wright said it had secured power and water agreements and begun clearing land.

On July 14, 2026 commissioners voted unanimously for Resolution 010-26, asking the Legislature to let counties set buffer zones, setbacks, noise and light standards, water impact statements and mandatory public hearings for data centers and battery storage. Lufkin passed a supporting resolution in August. The Legislature does not meet in regular session until January 12, 2027. Commissioners have since hired the law firm Allison, Bass & Magee for help with data center abatement agreements; Wright said the county has signed no nondisclosure agreements.