Tensions flare at Fort Worth City Council meeting over $10B data center

New details have been announced about Fort Worth’s proposed $10 billion data center project — including its developer — after a tense meeting drew both ire and support for the project.

At its meeting on Aug. 25, the Fort Worth City Council approved an amended site plan for a data center project in the city’s southeast edge, near Forest Hill and Everman.

Fort Worth-based energy consortium Black Mountain has been attached to the data center, but on Tuesday, a representative from the Virginia-based data center developer EdgeConneX announced that the company is the developer and operator.

“We’re not a crypto-mining operation, and we’re not a speculative developer looking to ride the data center wave,” Todd Workman, a representative from EdgeConneX, told council members.

Workman said that EdgeConneX has started outreach efforts to get local students involved with careers at the data center.

A council vote on the plan was postponed after residents — and some City Council members — expressed confusion and hesitation over the plans for the development. Zoning cases for the land were initially approved by the City Council in 2025.

The site plan that was approved on Tuesday includes four buildings, plus a substation that would only power the data center.

Throughout the year, just about any meeting regarding data centers in Fort Worth has drawn hours-long public comments from residents and activist groups, and attention from state representatives and candidates for statewide office.

That was still the case on Tuesday, as dozens of people came to speak against the data center.

“I think we’re moving too fast,” said Sue Weston, the owner of the historic Weston Gardens. The data center’s footprint is adjacent to her property. Weston told the city she does not believe enough environmental assessments on the data center have been completed.

As Weston spoke to the council, a sign held up behind her said “data centers are energy vampires.” Others spoke about the familiar concerns over data centers — high and power usage, environmental concerns, and potential health risks.

Some voiced viral theories, like a common social media story stating that a Texas farmer’s calves were stillborn after the development of a nearby data center. Texas Agriculture Commissioner candidate Clayton Tucker has said that he was told the story by a cattle farmer, but the claim has not been independently verified.

As Black Mountain CEO Rhett Bennett presented to council members, one person in the audience shouted “$46,000” — the amount of money that Bennett donated to eight Fort Worth City Council members and mayor Mattie Parker, according to previous Star-Telegram reporting.

“Geez,” Bennett can be heard saying into the microphone as the person was removed from the meeting.

Some, though, were at the meeting to voice their support. A sleek black bus idled outside City Hall after the meeting as people climbed inside.

Helen Collins Epps, a pastor and co-founder at the Morning Star Prayer Center in Fort Worth, said she paid for the bus to bring people from churches and community groups to speak in favor of the data center. Epps said that over 50 people came in support of the data center site plan.

“After looking at the situation and praying, and looking at our community as a community leader, I decided to support Black Mountain,” Epps told council members.

Epps said that she has hosted several informal community meetings that Bennett attended, including a meeting during a prayer circle on Aug. 21.

“He came to our prayer service, and we had about 50 to 60 people there,” Epps said.

Bennett attended a tense meeting about the data center site plan in March, but according to Black Mountain’s presentation during the council meeting, there has not been a public meeting since then.

The council voted 7-4 in favor of the site plan, with council members Deborah Peoples, Elizabeth Beck, Jeanette Martinez, and Carlos Flores voting in opposition.

Some at the meeting said that how council members voted could influence their political viability in the 2027 elections.

“Prioritize the people,” Nelly Gyamfi, of Fort Worth, told the council. “Elect a better city manager and get this city back on track — otherwise, May is going to be a very interesting time for you.”