Taylor Council Approves Project Mustang Development Agreement in 5–0 Vote

TAYLOR, Texas — The Taylor City Council voted 5–0 Thursday night to approve a development agreement for the 664-acre Taylor Technology Campus, formerly known as Project Mustang.

The vote followed months of debate over the proposed data center and on-site natural-gas power generation project planned between FM 112 and U.S. 79, immediately east of Taylor.

An overflow crowd attended the Oct. 8 meeting, with many residents asking the council to reject or delay the agreement. The meeting also included a lengthy presentation from Big Watt Digital, PowerHouse Data Centers and City staff explaining the project, the proposed regulations and the financial commitments tied to the agreement.

What the council actually approved

Thursday's vote approved a 20-year development agreement between the City of Taylor, Taylor Technology Campus LLC and the property owners. The agreement can be extended another 15 years if both sides agree.

The vote did not immediately annex the property into Taylor.

Under the agreement, the developer must submit a complete preliminary plat by April 8, 2027. No later than seven days after that plat is approved or conditionally approved, the developer must file a voluntary petition asking Taylor to annex the property.

The annexation petition would then be considered at a future City Council meeting after the required public notice and other legal requirements are met.

Some outside news coverage has described Thursday's action as the city annexing the property. The agreement itself shows that formal annexation is a later step.

What Thursday's vote does accomplish is approve the development agreement that will govern the project as it moves forward. City staff wrote in the agenda packet that approval would provide “vesting of the project use and standards.”

Developers describe a self-powered campus

During the meeting, Big Watt representative John Stokes described the development as a combined data center and energy campus.

Stokes said the project plans to generate its own electricity and operate without connecting to the regional electric grid. He told the council the campus would be “totally self-contained.”

The developers said the agreement establishes rules for construction, utilities, community commitments, operating standards and enforcement.

They also presented projections showing approximately $1.38 billion in gross City of Taylor tax revenue over 20 years. The developers said they are not requesting tax abatements, tax deferrals or tax discounts as part of this agreement.

The agreement includes approximately $28.2 million in community commitments, including funding for Taylor ISD, scholarships, workforce programs, City quality-of-life projects, animal care and local nonprofit organizations.

Water, setbacks and noise

PowerHouse representatives outlined several development standards included in the agreement.

The project includes a minimum 300-foot setback along property lines, with a minimum 700-foot setback along the southern boundary where many nearby homes are located. Developers said they would try to increase that southern setback during detailed design where possible.

The project will use a closed-loop cooling system supplied primarily with reclaimed water. The agreement limits the initial cooling-system fill for the entire site to approximately 1.575 million gallons.

PowerHouse said the project will fund construction of a reclaimed-water system capable of handling 1 million gallons per day. The company told the council the campus expects to use about 150,000 gallons per day, leaving additional capacity for the City.

The agreement also includes lighting requirements, acoustic testing and a noise standard generally limiting project noise at the property line to the greater of 65 dBA or the pre-development level.

Residents continue to object

Public opposition remained strong Thursday night.

Residents raised concerns about noise, water, the size of the on-site power generation system, the pace of the approval process and the decision to approve the agreement before Taylor finishes its broader data-center regulations.

One speaker pointed directly to the City staff report stating that the agreement would vest the project's uses and standards and questioned why the City would do that before those broader regulations are complete.

Another concern raised during public comment was the amount of on-site generation that could ultimately be built. A resident noted that the project has recently been described as a 500-megawatt data center while earlier Project Mustang materials discussed significantly more potential generation capacity. The resident asked the City to put a maximum generation limit in writing.

Residents also objected to changes in the public-comment process. Several speakers criticized the decision not to allow speakers to donate their time to another person during the meeting.

Pamela Griffin, who lives near the proposed project, again asked the council to consider the effect on neighboring residents and argued that financial benefits should not outweigh health and quality-of-life concerns.

The Planning and Zoning Commission had voted in August to table the earlier project application for 90 days while it waited for more information and for Taylor to continue work on new data-center regulations. The developers later withdrew that annexation and zoning application before the City and developers negotiated the development agreement approved Thursday.

What happens next

The council's vote is a major step forward for Taylor Technology Campus, but several development steps remain.

The preliminary plat must still be submitted and approved. The developers must then file the voluntary annexation petition. Formal annexation will require additional City action, and the project will still need the permits and approvals required for construction and operation.

The development agreement approved Thursday will serve as the regulatory framework for those next steps.

Wilco Liberty Project will continue following the annexation process, the project's development standards and Taylor's separate work on broader data-center regulations.