<\/p>\n
Construction at the site of a proposed Amazon data center is seen from the lawn of a nearby home in Boling on Friday, July 31, 2026.<\/p>\n
Raquel Natalicchio\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
A \u201cWelcome to Boling\u201d sign is photographed in Boling on Friday, July 31, 2026.<\/p>\n
Raquel Natalicchio\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
David Rodriguez, a goat farmer, nonprofit worker and community organizer opposing a proposed Amazon data center near Boling, is photographed in Wharton, Friday, July 31, 2026. Amazon has proposed developing the data center on nearly 3,000 acres of land in the area.<\/p>\n
Raquel Natalicchio\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
The entrance to the construction site of a proposed Amazon data center is photographed in Boling on Friday, July 31, 2026.<\/p>\n
Raquel Natalicchio\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
A mesh fence separates the construction site of a proposed Amazon data center from homes across the street in Boling on Friday, July 31, 2026.<\/p>\n
Raquel Natalicchio\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Along a two-lane highway 55 miles southwest of Houston, Amazon is laying the groundwork for a $10 billion data center campus that could transform a rural community into a massive engine for the artificial intelligence boom.<\/p>\n
At nearly 3,000 acres, the site is sprawling, even by Amazon standards. Houston has dozens of smaller data centers<\/a>, but Amazon\u2019s Wharton County proposal would bring something new to the region: a major data center campus developed for one of the world\u2019s largest technology companies.<\/p>\n Known as Project Eagle, the Amazon Web Services project is rising in unincorporated\u00a0Wharton County on the edge of the Greater Houston region. The project is proposed near Boling, a town of less than 400 people about 35 miles south of Sugar Land.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Wharton County officials are weighing the potential benefits of a multi-billion-dollar investment and hundreds of new jobs against concerns about how much water and electricity the project will require and what power the local officials have to protect residents.<\/p>\n Although much is unknown about Amazon\u2019s plans, public records and company statements reviewed by the Houston Chronicle reveal new details about the development, including a larger footprint than initially disclosed and the potential for the center to use enough untreated water to fill nearly 250 Olympic-sized swimming pools annually.<\/p>\n \u00a0Location: Unincorporated Wharton County just outside of Boling, Texas, southwest of Houston<\/p>\n Investment: \u00a0$10 billion<\/p>\n Scale: Nearly 3,000-acre campus includes 10 data center buildings, each with a footprint of a\u00a0Walmart Supercenter.<\/p>\n Electricity needs: Total unknown but project would require more than 75 megawatts at peak demand, or roughly enough to power 18,750 homes.<\/p>\n Water needs: No groundwater will be used for cooling data centers, Amazon said. As project grows, it could use 500-acre-feet of water annually, or enough to fill about 250 Olympic-sized swimming pools, supplied by the Lower Colorado River Authority.<\/p>\n Construction status:\u00a0\u00a0Amazon moving dirt and conducting site preparations after securing a conditional development permit with Wharton County. More permits are needed from county.<\/p>\n Timeline: Initial buildings expected in 2027 and project could grow over time.<\/p>\n Jobs: At least 150 permanent jobs by mid-2027, plus \u201chundreds\u201d more in the future and \u201cthousands\u201d of construction jobs, per Amazon.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we all understand that the data centers are coming, right? That they\u2019re necessary,\u201d said\u00a0Bertina Carter, a Wharton County native and program coordinator at Texas Southern University who now lives in Houston but frequently visits her family there. \u201cBut do we need as many (data centers) as they\u2019re building? No. What are we doing with all these huge buildings all over the state of Texas?\u201d<\/p>\n Amazon has said it would use energy- and water- efficient technologies to minimize the project\u2019s impact. “We are committed to being a good neighbor,\u201d said David Ross, an Amazon spokesperson.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Wharton County is the latest rural community<\/a> confronting Texas\u2019 rapid ascent as an epicenter of the nation\u2019s AI-fueled data center boom, with nearly 250 projects planned<\/a> in the state. Even as Amazon and other tech giants race to build new data centers, growing public backlash against the facilities has prompted Gov. Greg Abbott to respond. Abbott, who once welcomed data centers, recently directed two state agencies to audit proposed projects<\/a> \u2013 \u00a0potentially slowing, but not stopping, the pace of data center development for now.<\/p>\n Across the highway from Amazon\u2019s construction site near\u00a0Boling, mature oak trees shade dozens of homes, some with red signs posted in the front reading: \u201cYou can live without data, but you can\u2019t live without water.\u201d<\/p>\n Many residents worry about the strain the data center could put on regional water and electricity supplies and wonder whether it will impact air quality and property values, said David Rodriguez, a goat farmer who lives about six miles from the project site in Lane City. Amazon and the county have not been transparent about the project\u2019s scale, water or electricity use, leaving community members to try to fill in the gaps with public records requests, he said<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cWe are [a] small community, partially a minority-majority community, a\u00a0socioenomically disadvantaged community,\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201cWe don’t have any zoning, so all of that adds to a ripe place for a corporation like Amazon to exploit.\u201d<\/p>\n One of David Rodriguez\u2019s goats stands over a sign opposing a proposed Amazon data center in Boling on Friday, July 31, 2026.<\/p>\n Raquel Natalicchio\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n Judge Philip Spenrath, Wharton County\u2019s top elected officials, signed a sweeping non-disclosure agreement on behalf of the county with VisionFirst Advisors, a consulting firm that has worked with Amazon. The agreement, reviewed by the Chronicle, generally restricts the county\u2019s ability to disclose confidential information such as design details, financial information, production output and other business plans.\u00a0<\/p>\n Spenrath did not respond to multiple requests for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n Asked about whether it was involved in the non-disclosure agreement, Amazon didn\u2019t directly respond, but said it typically works with consultants during the early phases of a project. The tech giant plans to launch a website and host in-person events to respond to residents’ questions, Amazon said.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n MAP: See where data centers are operating or planned near you in Texas\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n The project is proposed in a county that has relied on its natural resources for generations\u00a0\u2014\u00a0 from pumping water into rice fields to mining sulfur and extracting oil in the 20th century. Agriculture still dominates: cattle graze along highways and Cal-Mine foods, the nation\u2019s largest egg producer, operates a large complex in Boling.<\/p>\n Unlike other fast-growing rural areas outside of Houston,\u00a0Wharton County has stayed stable at about 42,000 people for years. About 43% of residents are Hispanic and nearly 14% are Black, according to U.S. Census estimates.\u00a0<\/p>\n David Rodriguez, a goat farmer, nonprofit worker and community organizer opposing a proposed Amazon data center near Boling, is photographed with his goats in Wharton, Friday, July 31, 2026. Amazon has proposed developing the data center on nearly 3,000 acres of land in the area.<\/p>\n Raquel Natalicchio\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n Since Rodriguez bought a house about 10 years ago, he\u2019s seen new industrial developments pop up nearby, such as a solar farm and a wind farm that sounds like an airplane overhead, he said. The prospect of another major development threatens more change.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s in my community that I live in, and watching it get destroyed like that is heartbreaking,\u201d Rodriguez said, tears welling in his eyes.<\/p>\n Rodriguez said several residents received a glossy pamphlet from the Texas Association of Business promoting an unnamed data center. The project would be a \u201clow impact neighbor\u201d with a \u201cbig payoff\u201d that could help finance schools, sheriff departments,\u00a0repave roads and even lower property taxes, the pamphlet argued.<\/p>\n But Rodriguez said he and other residents remain unconvinced.<\/p>\n Footprint of ten Walmart Supercenters<\/p>\n Though the project has more regulatory hurdles to clear, Amazon purchased nearly 3,000 acres for the development in March and received conditional development permits to prepare for construction,\u00a0Wharton County records show.<\/p>\n Bright orange Jersey barriers mark the entrance to the construction site. Heavy trucks haul materials along a gravel road past a staging area filled with shipping containers.<\/p>\n Initially, county officials and state filings indicated that the campus would encompass four to six buildings.<\/p>\n But a proposed site plan reviewed by the Chronicle shows the project would have 10 data center buildings, each spanning about 189,000 square feet, roughly the footprint of a Walmart Supercenter, along with three smaller buildings. Each data center building would be valued at about $300 million, according to state construction filings.<\/p>\n The project scale could change as the company finalizes plans, Amazon said.<\/p>\n Amazon Web Services data center is seen on Thursday,\u00a0Aug. 22, 2024, in Boardman, Ore.<\/p>\n Jenny Kane\/Associated Press<\/p>\n Amazon and\u00a0CenterPoint, the electric utility serving the project site, both declined to disclose the project\u2019s expected electricity needs.<\/p>\n However, Amazon confirmed it is participating in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)\u2019s new process<\/a> for reviewing large customer requests, which is reserved for projects seeking at least 75 megawatts of electricity at peak demand.<\/p>\n That is at least enough electricity to support 18,750 homes \u2014 about as many households as there are in Houston’s Oak Forest and Garden Oaks neighborhoods combined.<\/p>\n Amazon said it would curtail its load or rely on backup power during grid emergencies, and that its project would not increase the risk of brownouts. The company also said it pay for electrical infrastructure upgrades.<\/p>\n Wind turbines are seen behind a residential area near the proposed Amazon data center site in Wharton County on Friday, July 31, 2026.<\/p>\n Raquel Natalicchio\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n Data centers often need massive water supplies for equipment cooling, a central concern in a county where many rural residents rely on well water.<\/p>\n Amazon said it would not use groundwater for cooling, adding that it is committed to being a \u201cgood water steward\u201d by using new efficient technologies<\/a> and funding water replenishment projects in the area.<\/p>\n EXCLUSIVE: ERCOT data shows Texas data center hotspots\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n The initial buildings in the campus would use air, not water, for cooling, the company said. \u00a0As the site grows, the company may use surface water during the hottest hours of the year, or roughly 15% of the time, Amazon said.<\/p>\n Clara\u00a0Tuma, a Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) spokesperson, said that Amazon anticipates using about 500 acre-feet per year of untreated water.<\/p>\n That\u2019s roughly 163 million gallons, or enough to cover about 380 football fields with about one foot of water.\u00a0<\/p>\n The entrance to the construction site of a proposed Amazon data center is photographed in Boling on Friday, July 31, 2026.<\/p>\n Raquel Natalicchio\/Houston Chronicle Like nearly half of proposed Texas data centers<\/a>, Project Eagle is planned for an unincorporated area that has far less authority over land use than cities.\u00a0<\/p>\n County governments in Texas do not have broad authority to prevent private landowners from developing their property,\u00a0Spenrath, the county judge, wrote<\/a> in the a June\u00a0Wharton County Leader Journal article.\u00a0<\/p>\n But counties can still influence development through drainage, floodplain, fire-safety and road-access requirements, said\u00a0Emilio Longoria, a professor at South Texas College of Law Houston.<\/p>\n \u201cThey can make construction really, really hard,\u201d\u00a0Longoria said. \u201cThere’s a lot of examples of things being held up at the county level because they fail to pass these administration requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n Amazon would have to avoid using groundwater for cooling as part of a proposed binding agreement, Spenrath wrote. The proposed agreement would also require the company to protect roads, drainage, emergency services and water resources, among other safeguards, Spenrath wrote, in addition to providing 150 full-time jobs.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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\n\u2018High-paying\u2019 jobs and an unfinished deal<\/p>\n