LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Residents and area property owners gathered Thursday night to question the impact of a planned data center off Interstate 27 and FM 54 north of Abernathy.
The developer, Aligned Data Centers, said it is aware of community concerns. Executive Vice President David Robinson said he wanted to meet with neighbors in person.
“This is a big project that’s coming to their community,” Robinson said. “Aligned Data Centers is a developer, operator and owner, so we are not selling our data centers. We will continue to be in the community, and we do want to be a good neighbor.”
Community raises questions and Developers respond
Residents raised concerns about infrastructure, job opportunities, electricity use, water consumption and developer accountability.
Robinson and Cardell Andrews, vice president for land enablement, said Aligned is focused on resource conservation. Andrews said the project will use a closed-loop cooling system designed to limit water use compared to other data centers.
“Data centers are a part of the solution. We make the grid more resilient. Data centers are also investing those infrastructure improvements,” Robinson said. “I’ve built and designed them myself, I know that they do that — the new technology, as Dave mentioned, sustainability is a key to Aligned, that is something we focus on, something we take pride in,” Andrews said.
Mayor pledges to protect residents
Abernathy Mayor Harold Bufe said he would work to ensure the project does not harm residents.
“I own a home in Abernathy, we are not going to do anything that’s going to make our home worthless, we are not going to jeopardize us to not have drinking water,” Bufe said. “And if we are able to annex this, it’s going to be a huge impact on the city — those are things we got to think about.”
Transparency on project
Robinson says as the construction process moves forward this year, transparency will be the key to ensuring this project powers innovation, without leaving Abernathy residents in the dark.
For more information on how Aligned develops data centers and its impact on communities, click here.
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