CEO: Proposed data center in College Station focused on AI, not Bitcoin mining
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) -With a city council vote approaching on Thursday, Priority Power CEO Brandon Schwertner is clearing the air about what he calls misconceptions about a proposed data facility that’s being opposed by many residents in College Station.
He says the misconception originated from early documents that were drafted and eventually shared on social media that referenced Bitcoin mining, despite developers now stating that the project is focused on data and AI.
Schwertner plans to ask the city this week to remove the language in the land agreement with the city that references cryptocurrency.
“I think there was a general misconception, and rightfully so, that this was going to be a Bitcoin mining site,” Schwertner said. “We’ll be asking the city council to strike that.”
Schwertner, a third-generation Aggie and former Texas A&M football player, said the data center, which is planned to be located near the Midtown area behind Costco, would focus on artificial intelligence and high-performance computing, and added that it could support the university, create jobs, and generate tax revenue.
“It’s going to bring more business into the city,” he said. “You can’t argue the taxation benefits that the city will get, the job creations.”
Concerns in College Station have been shaped in part by what’s happening in other Texas communities. In Granbury, residents who live near a Bitcoin mine say constant sound has disrupted their daily lives.
“It’s 10 o’clock at night, and I’m sitting next to my truck,” one resident said. “I’m actually touching my truck, and you’re hearing all the Bitcoin noise. It’s all you can hear.”
Another resident described the health effects of the noise.
“I’ll be disoriented and like motion sickness during the day randomly,” the resident said. “We don’t sleep at night. The sound here at night is so horrendous, it broadcasts through my walls, my windows.”
Schwertner said College Station residents would not face those conditions. “The technology is more sophisticated. Noise ordinances are known,” he said. “So that’s all being worked on. So if this is going to be located in a city, there’s not going to be noise issues — the city wouldn’t allow for it.”
On infrastructure and utilities, Schwertner said the city previously allocated water for the site and that the proposal would stay within that limit. He said the project’s power would be sourced to avoid impacts on residents’ bills.
“The power is going to be externally sourced to that project. So if you think about the city and the residents in a silo, the high-performance computing center is not going to come in and take power out of the pool and then drive prices up as a result,” he said.
“The cities would perform the service to keep the lights on at the facility just like they do at your house, and they charge, you know, a rate to do that. So it’s not going to affect any of the residents in that area just because it’s a large user of electricity.”
The College Station City Council is scheduled to meet on Thursday to continue discussions on the proposal. Dozens of residents are expected to attend, with many of them planning to speak out in opposition to the proposal.
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