Data centers in Midland County, Texas: 1 project mapped

Imagery: Esri, Maxar

Midland County's leaders have said they will take data centers on one condition: that the companies bring their own power and water. "I believe the only appropriate way for data centers to be developed in West Texas is for them to solve their own water solutions and their own power solutions, and that it be out away from neighborhoods and families," Mayor Lori Blong said on KWEL radio on May 13, 2026, the Permian Press reported. She said the city should not sell them municipal water: "We've just spent most of this show talking about our water limitations, but we also have energy limitations." County Judge Terry Johnson said the day before that three data center groups had approached the county, all describing closed-loop cooling and on-site natural gas generation. "These folks want to be good neighbors, so they're always trying to improve what they're doing," he said.

In September 2025, FO Permian Partners and HiVolt Energy, both headquartered in Midland, said they had 320 acres under option with a landowner about 30 minutes southeast of downtown, part of a 3,200-acre tract, the Midland Reporter-Telegram reported. The first phase promises 150 megawatts of behind-the-meter gas power, about what the whole city of Midland uses in its lowest-demand winter hours, from reciprocating engines with battery backup, off the grid; the developers claim access to more than 5 gigawatts of gas supply. No data center builder had signed on. Co-founder Davis Farish said the partners "still have a steep hill to climb to attract a premier data center builder to West Texas." HiVolt's Andy Deck said local ownership mattered: "A lot of times, big projects like this, people take a lot of value out of the Permian Basin. We liked the ability to keep value in the Permian Basin."

The broader Permian question is power. At a Texas Senate committee hearing on May 11, Blong said she was "very frustrated with the lack of gas-fired power generation in West Texas." The Public Utility Commission is collecting water-use data from data centers and crypto mines statewide and must report by the end of 2026, ahead of the 2027 legislative session, the Permian Press reported.

Every project above is drawn from public records, filings and local reporting. Each row links to what it is based on. Statuses change, so check the source date before you rely on one. Found something wrong? Write to [email protected] and it gets fixed.