Latest / Austin Signal / Competing interests for the Dog’s Head development

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Competing interests for the Dog’s Head development · Austin Signal

0:08
We have been learning a lot about
0:09
the Dog's Head development over the
0:11
past months, including the
0:13
future plans the developer would
0:14
like to see there, how little
0:16
neighbors knew about the idea as it
0:17
picked up steam, and the
0:19
competing interests curious about
0:21
that project.
0:22
We're going to tell you about the
0:22
ways those sides sought support from
0:24
the city.
0:25
And we're also trying to learn more
0:26
about what data centers are and
0:28
understand their impacts on our
0:30
communities and its resources.
0:32
What are the necessary supplies to
0:34
power these centers?
0:35
Well, a whole lot of water and
0:36
plenty of electricity.
0:38
We'll tell you just how much and how
0:39
that impacts all of us.
0:41
That's on today's show.
0:42
The Austin Signal is a production
0:44
of KUT News, hosted by
0:46
Jerry Quijano.
0:47
Plus, we've got a look ahead at a
0:49
few art happenings this week here in
0:51
our area.
0:52
Plenty more show coming up after
0:54
this.
0:55
This is Austin Signal.
1:07
Howdy out there, this is Austin
1:09
Signal. I'm your host Jerry
1:10
Kehannel. Thank you for being with
1:11
us. It's Wednesday, August 5th.
1:14
The Dog's Head development in
1:16
Southeast Austin is moving forward
1:17
after city council last month
1:19
approved creation of a tax increment
1:21
reinvestment zone, or TERS, for
1:23
the project.
1:24
But the multi-use development has
1:26
been controversial from the start,
1:27
with some neighbors saying there
1:28
wasn't enough community engagement
1:30
ahead of key votes.
1:31
Going on in the background were
1:33
competing political campaigns trying
1:34
to sway city council on the project.
1:37
Here to tell us more is Andrea Ball.
1:39
She covers growth development for
1:40
our reporting partners over at
1:42
Austin Current.
1:43
Andrea, good to see you.
1:44
Great to be here, Jerry.
1:46
Okay, so we have been talking a lot
1:47
about dog's head development,
1:49
and a lot has been happening in a
1:50
short amount of time. So can you
1:51
remind us why is this development,
1:53
why has it been so controversial to
1:55
begin with?
1:56
Well, it's a really big piece of
1:58
property. It's four and a half
1:59
square miles, 2,600 acres,
2:02
and it's very close.
2:03
It's Southeast Austin, and it is
2:05
very close to the Colorado River.
2:07
And I think one of the reasons it
2:09
became so controversial is because
2:10
although it had been in the works
2:11
for quite a while, it popped up on
2:13
the agenda in May,
2:15
a consent agenda, actually,
2:17
and they changed that.
2:19
But the point was that they just
2:21
kind of showed up. There had been no
2:23
real community input.
2:24
There had not been a lot of
2:24
conversation.
2:26
And people were concerned
2:28
that a lot of issues had not been
2:30
explored.
2:31
Okay so your recent reporting was
2:32
taking a look at two competing
2:33
groups trying to influence city
2:35
council. Tell us a little bit more
2:36
about them, who are they and what
2:38
are their goals.
2:39
So you can say one side
2:41
are the developers who envision
2:43
a city in a city.
2:44
This is a large piece of property,
2:46
as I've said, and they want business
2:48
and industry and
2:50
shops and homes
2:52
and that kind of stuff.
2:53
And they want to take what was a
2:55
mining site, fill in the big pits
2:57
that are left there
2:59
and basically turn it into this
3:01
community.
3:02
They also talk about creating
3:04
more access to the Colorado River.
3:06
This other group is
3:08
Neighbors that's not a hugely
3:10
populated area, but there
3:12
are neighbors.
3:12
There are environmentalists There
3:14
are community members who
3:16
are concerned about more
3:18
development happening on the east
3:20
side of austin without
3:22
talking to the community
3:24
members So they
3:26
have not said Mostly
3:29
kill this project forget it never
3:31
develop that area.
3:32
What they have said is stop
3:34
slow down do the
3:36
environmental studies, do the
3:37
studies and talk to us
3:39
about it.
3:40
So how did these campaigns end up
3:42
approaching city council?
3:44
How did they try to sway them?
3:45
It's really fascinating.
3:48
So the Endeavor folks took
3:50
a pretty modern approach, which is
3:52
to use something,
3:54
to create an ad that sort of
3:57
follows where your demographic goes.
3:58
You don't take a big ad out in
4:00
like the New York Times or whatever.
4:01
You take an ad and it goes
4:03
where the people that you want
4:05
to influence go.
4:06
So it did end up, one ad did end
4:08
up on the New york Times Wordle
4:10
page for one person.
4:12
So I don't know that it went to a
4:14
million people, but it followed that
4:15
demographic there.
4:16
So that was to reach out to people
4:18
where they are.
4:19
They also were
4:21
drumming up support from
4:23
people who are
4:25
involved in
4:27
industry and real estate and
4:29
people who see that
4:31
area as a good potential.
4:34
They were not trying to
4:36
drum up community support
4:38
from all parts of the city.
4:40
In an obvious way.
4:41
They were going with folks that they
4:43
thought would be supportive
4:45
the other side
4:48
it was more grassroots,
4:50
but like today grassroots like
4:53
One of the participants, you know
4:55
was had a big list that sent out
4:56
16,000 like texts and
4:58
and emails others, you, know part of
5:00
that group. They would do block
5:02
walking and flyers They
5:03
were really focused super
5:05
locally
5:06
So, some of the supporters who
5:08
signed up to speak in front of
5:09
council back on July 23rd,
5:11
they appeared to be from outside of
5:13
Austin that caught my interest.
5:15
Tell us more about that.
5:16
Yeah, so there's no rule
5:18
at the city that says you have to
5:20
live in the district,
5:22
the city, the state.
5:25
You can sign up your
5:27
opinion no matter where
5:29
you are.
5:30
When I talked to the people from
5:33
Dog's Head, they said, we were not
5:34
targeting people from New York to
5:36
come and if I were going
5:37
to do an ad in Myrtle,
5:39
that's not where I would go,
5:41
like to just get, you know, so.
5:43
Um What did happen,
5:45
however, is that, you know, in a
5:46
network, in a statewide network,
5:48
people are like, Oh, yeah, I, I'm
5:50
into I'm interested in that kind
5:52
of development. I would like to see
5:53
that kind of thing. I support that.
5:55
So they would come from San Antonio
5:57
and Houston, some came from
5:58
out of state.
6:00
Some of them may have been
6:01
employees, some of
6:03
them were just people who were
6:04
plugged in.
6:06
The TURS vote did pass,
6:08
then there are more council
6:09
decisions ahead, but this isn't the
6:11
end of the story.
6:12
What's next for this project, and
6:13
are opponents going to continue to
6:15
fight it?
6:16
Yeah, no one's going away.
6:19
That is the most remarkable thing
6:20
about Austin, isn't it?
6:22
Like when people really think
6:23
something, they continue to
6:25
think it and they continue to fight
6:27
for it, and that's what I love about
6:28
Austin.
6:30
And so yeah, the folks who wanna
6:32
see changes to the current plan are
6:34
absolutely going to continue
6:36
to show up to council meetings where
6:38
it's being discussed, where
6:39
there might be a vote, that sort
6:41
of thing.
6:42
What I expect to see is Endeavor
6:44
make more efforts.
6:45
They have made efforts.
6:46
They're making more efforts, what
6:47
they say they will, to
6:49
reach out to the community, to
6:51
explain things, ask
6:53
what people are concerned about,
6:55
answer questions, that sort of
6:56
thing.
6:57
All right, well, when there's more
6:59
reporting on what's happening on
7:00
Dog's Head development, we will
7:01
bring you that right here on Austin
7:03
Signal. We have been speaking with
7:04
Andrea Ball, Growth Development
7:06
Reporter for Austin Current.
7:08
They are KUT's reporting partner
7:10
as well as Austin Signal's reporting
7:11
partner. Andrea, always great to
7:13
talk with you.
7:13
Always a pleasure to be here.
7:18
All right, we are just about halfway
7:20
through this week, and I can't be
7:22
the only one thinking about the
7:23
weekend already.
7:25
So for today's Where the
7:27
Art Is segment, we are
7:28
joined by Art Beat editor Stephanie
7:30
Federico to get us thinking about
7:33
what is ahead this weekend.
7:34
Howdy, Steph, good to see you.
7:35
Good to see you.
7:36
It's never too early.
7:37
It really isn't.
7:38
And you know, there's always
7:39
something going on in Austin that
7:40
you really have to start thinking a
7:42
few days ahead as to what
7:43
might be shaking out so that I can
7:45
make this, make that, and maybe
7:47
screen a three-hour Odyssey
7:50
movie somewhere in there.
7:51
So let's give some alternatives to
7:53
spending three hours inside
7:55
an Odyssey theater.
7:57
Tell us a little bit about Midnight.
7:58
What is that?
8:00
So this is a play that's
8:02
put on by Summer Break Theater, and
8:03
this is group of teachers
8:05
and educators who are on their
8:07
summer break.
8:08
So it's apparently this old school
8:10
screwball comedy that takes place
8:12
in the 1950s in the suites
8:14
at the Ritz Carlton in New
8:16
York, and it's this desperate
8:18
director's meeting and it kind of
8:20
descends into chaos.
8:22
It's making its Texas premiere,
8:24
and that's happening starting
8:25
Thursday through the 15th
8:27
at Stage Austin.
8:29
Okay, that's really interesting.
8:30
I've never heard of that, an
8:31
educator. You know, you see those
8:33
games where teachers will play
8:35
basketball or football in high
8:37
school, but I've seen a fool on
8:39
play. That sounds pretty intriguing.
8:41
This next suggestion got a lot of
8:43
people in the newsroom talking just
8:44
about 30 minutes ago, and it was
8:46
jazz. So tell us, what is this jazz
8:48
that you speak of?
8:49
Yeah, someone was saying that, you
8:51
know, you reach a certain age and
8:52
you're suddenly a big jazz fan.
8:54
I didn't hear that part.
8:56
Yeah, so I have
8:58
never been to Parker Jazz Club.
8:59
It's downtown on 4th Street.
9:02
Chris Kamura, quartet is playing
9:04
and his band is going to be
9:05
doing American songbook classics
9:08
like Nat King Cole, Chet Baker,
9:10
Frank Sinatra, Mel Torme, all that.
9:12
I've not been to this space as I
9:14
said, but you know, looking online,
9:16
it looks like this really nice
9:17
little intimate venue that is
9:19
like the perfect setting to sit and
9:21
listen to jazz, so.
9:22
I would be interested in checking
9:24
that out. They also do a live stream
9:26
if you wanna just listen in your own
9:28
home. So you can tune in that way.
9:30
Okay, well as we're seeing with The
9:32
Odyssey, I keep mentioning The
9:32
Odyssey but the classics never go
9:34
out of style and it sounds like you
9:35
can get a little taste of that this
9:37
Saturday at, again,
9:39
Parker Jazz Club.
9:40
Okay, also Saturday,
9:42
some second Saturday open studios,
9:44
where is that happening?
9:45
Yeah, that's over at Art Hub ATX.
9:47
That is this giant space that opened
9:49
just a few years ago off I-35
9:51
near the Woodward Street
9:53
exit. It's this old
9:55
insurance building, and you can tell
9:57
it's like very 70s, like wood
9:59
paneling and the carpet and
10:00
everything.
10:01
They have more than 100 artist
10:02
studios and galleries there, lots of
10:04
cool stuff there, including the
10:06
Good Dads studio, which I recommend.
10:08
Lots of contemporary art,
10:09
photography, printmaking.
10:11
There's going to be some tours, some
10:13
vendor markets, some food trucks.
10:14
There's like a drop in ceramics
10:16
class. I think, uh, this
10:18
happens every second Saturday of the
10:20
month from one to six.
10:21
Okay, you can drop into the ceramics
10:23
class, but please don't drop your
10:24
ceramics at the drop-in ceramics.
10:27
Okay, we have a little bit of time
10:28
here, and I don't know if you caught
10:30
it because I was trying to be real
10:31
subtle with my foreshadowing, but I
10:33
wanted to ask you about the Odyssey.
10:35
Have you had a chance to catch it
10:37
yet?
10:37
I have not seen it yet.
10:38
Okay, well, I
10:40
was trying to hold out for a ticket
10:42
at the Bullock, but they were
10:43
extremely sold out.
10:45
But you've already come to us once
10:46
on Signal to talk about tickets
10:48
being restocked.
10:49
Is there a chance that's happening
10:50
here?
10:50
I just read that they
10:52
did add some new show times,
10:54
like the Bullock, like you said,
10:55
I've never been to an IMAX movie at
10:57
the Bullok, but apparently this is
10:59
the movie that you go to the IMAx
11:01
for.
11:02
So I think that's really cool.
11:03
I guess the demand was super high
11:05
and people were waiting hours and
11:07
all that stuff.
11:07
And now the students are going to be
11:09
coming back to the university soon
11:10
and I'm sure more people would be we
11:12
need to 24-hour screenings here at
11:13
the Bullock. I don't know who's
11:14
gonna work them, but we need those.
11:16
All right. That is Stephanie
11:17
Federico She is the editor of
11:19
our art beats Stephanie great to
11:21
chat with you
11:22
Great to chat with you, Jerry.
11:23
Alright, this is Austin Signal.
11:25
We'll be back after a break.
11:29
This is Austin Signal, welcome back.
11:32
This week, Texas Governor Greg
11:33
Abbott ordered a pause on new data
11:35
centers until more is known about
11:37
how much power and water each of
11:39
those projects need.
11:41
Democrats in the Texas Senate
11:42
meanwhile are calling for a complete
11:44
moratorium on new data centers,
11:47
until the legislature meets to pass
11:48
new rules for them.
11:50
Water and electricity are two of
11:52
the major factors in the opposition
11:54
to data centers but How much
11:56
of these things do they actually
11:58
use, and what does that mean for the
11:59
rest of us?
12:00
In the second part of our series,
12:02
The Data Center Next Door, KUT's
12:05
Kaylee Hunt, Katie McAfee and Lee
12:07
Walden tried to corral some
12:08
answers.
12:12
Tori Martin's horses run straight
12:14
for her when they spot her at the
12:16
top of the hill.
12:18
Stepping out of the truck, Martin is
12:20
immediately surrounded.
12:21
Whoop you, did you knock the free
12:22
branch down?
12:24
Each horse is vying for attention,
12:26
winning and nudging her with their
12:27
noses.
12:32
Martin has been raising animals her
12:34
entire life.
12:35
Taught me a lot of patience.
12:37
Things don't always go your way.
12:39
You just try again.
12:41
You ask more politely maybe.
12:44
Asking firmer doesn't usually get
12:45
the job done.
12:47
These days.
12:47
Martin is learning how to ask for
12:49
things firmer and she's becoming
12:51
increasingly impatient with
12:53
some humans at least
12:55
particularly the humans who want to
12:57
build a data center next to her
12:58
ranch just outside San Marcos.
13:00
We'd be backing up to our fence line
13:03
for about 40 acres this direction.
13:07
And it would be an AI data center.
13:10
A developer.
13:10
Proposed the data center about a
13:12
year ago.
13:13
Since then, Martin's been working
13:14
alongside activists in the area to
13:16
try to fight it.
13:17
Land is the only thing they're not
13:18
making more of,
13:20
and I would, you
13:22
know, hate to not be able to
13:24
raise kids in the same environment I
13:25
was able to be raised in.
13:28
There's lots of development
13:29
happening around Martin's ranch,
13:31
and it's been putting stress on
13:33
nearby infrastructure.
13:34
Her neighborhood already deals with
13:36
brown-outs and water outages.
13:37
Martin blames it on all the new
13:39
building in the area.
13:40
If a data center moves in, she's
13:41
worried about the county keeping up.
13:43
She's not the only one.
13:45
I call this regular meeting of the
13:46
San Marcos City Council to order.
13:48
Today is Tuesday, February
13:50
17th. It's February of this year.
13:52
Hundreds of people spill onto the
13:54
lawn outside of San Marcas City
13:55
Hall.
13:56
Mr. Rodriguez here.
13:57
Mr. Garza.
14:00
The council.
14:00
Chambers themselves are packed.
14:03
So is the overflow room and the
14:05
lobby.
14:05
The council is set to discuss the
14:07
development behind...
14:08
Martin's ranch.
14:09
The clipboard where people sign up
14:10
for public comment has a thick stack
14:12
of pages with line after
14:14
line of names.
14:15
On it are business owners,
14:17
students, parents, just regular
14:19
people, Democrats and
14:21
Republicans.
14:22
Most have come to oppose the data
14:24
center. Their methods of persuasion
14:26
vary.
14:27
You say no to this
14:29
and there is a grand celebration.
14:32
Everyone in the yard is happy.
14:34
People are gonna go jump in the
14:35
river. They're gonna go out.
14:36
People are going to get laid tonight
14:37
if you say no.
14:39
Just to say, hundreds of speakers at
14:40
the meeting are passionate.
14:42
They're worried about how a data
14:43
center will change the culture of
14:45
the town.
14:45
We are sacrificing our identity
14:47
as a city.
14:49
They're worried about their energy
14:50
bills. When the electricity bills go
14:52
up, that will be on all
14:54
of you that have voted yes to this.
14:56
But they're mostly worried about
14:58
water. Data centers consume vast
14:59
quantities of water.
15:00
I am incredibly concerned about
15:02
future water security.
15:04
I want y'all, put y'alls money where
15:05
your mouth is because you're
15:06
literally taking water out of our
15:08
mouth.
15:08
In my culture, we say agua
15:10
es vida, meaning water
15:12
is life.
15:13
Water. Water.
15:14
Water. Water. Water.
15:15
But how much water do data centers
15:16
actually use?
15:18
Does anyone really know?
15:22
We called Margaret Cook to find out.
15:24
She researches water supply at the
15:26
Houston Advanced Research Center.
15:28
I've been working on water energy
15:29
nexus issues for...
15:31
About 15 years.
15:32
She says there is an answer to
15:34
how much water data centers use,
15:37
just not a satisfying one.
15:40
The clear answer to the general
15:41
question is it depends.
15:42
It depends on two things,
15:45
how big a data center is and
15:46
how.
15:47
It's cooled.
15:48
Remember the servers in a data
15:50
center run constantly and generate
15:51
a ton of heat and that
15:53
heat needs to be dissipated somehow
15:55
or the computers can burn out in
15:57
minutes.
15:58
Most data centers either use air
15:59
or water to cool its servers.
16:01
Cook says, air works fine for data
16:03
centers built in cold climates,
16:06
but it's hot in Texas.
16:07
Water is much more
16:09
efficient at cooling than air is.
16:12
That's why on a hot day,
16:14
you'd probably rather jump in a pool
16:15
than stand under a tree.
16:16
Many data centers rely on what's
16:19
called evaporative cooling.
16:20
That's where water absorbs heat from
16:22
the servers, causing it to eva-
16:24
Cook says evaporative cooling is
16:26
an energy-efficient way of cooling a
16:28
data center, but it uses
16:30
a ton of water.
16:32
Then there's a closed loop system.
16:34
In a closed-loop, a coolant gets
16:36
looped through a data center,
16:37
pulling heat off of servers.
16:39
As the fluid moves through the
16:40
system, it gets hotter and hotter,
16:42
and something else needs to cool it
16:44
back down for the closed loop to
16:45
work. Cook says to think about your
16:47
body as an example.
16:48
You can't cool down unless something
16:50
takes heat off of you.
16:52
So you're gonna sweat and the
16:54
wind's gonna or the air is gonna
16:55
pull the sweat off of you and that's
16:57
how your body cools.
16:59
And then your skin and your blood
17:00
cool down and that to close loop
17:02
system.
17:03
Cook says more and more data centers
17:04
are using this method, but closed
17:06
loop systems have a catch.
17:08
Just like how your body cools
17:10
itself, some data centers use
17:11
an air chiller to cool down that
17:13
fluid. In that case, a data center's
17:15
overall water usage would be pretty
17:17
small. They only need water for
17:19
things like landscaping and flushing
17:20
toilets.
17:21
But some data center use water
17:23
chillers to cool that fluid,
17:25
Cook says, in that case a closed
17:27
loop system can...
17:28
Still be very water intensive.
17:31
And our estimates on using
17:33
a water chiller for a hyperscale
17:35
data center do show
17:37
that water use could get to
17:39
half a billion gallons.
17:41
Cook says your average data center
17:43
likely uses about 60 million
17:45
gallons of water a year,
17:47
around what an 18-hole golf course
17:49
uses.
17:50
But the new ones, the hyperscalers
17:51
that Cook's talking about that are
17:53
being built to do.
17:54
In a worst case scenario, those can
17:56
drink up more than a billion gallons
17:58
of water in a year.
18:00
That would have to be a really
18:01
water-intensive cooling strategy.
18:04
And that's not
18:06
something that's usually chosen in
18:07
Texas.
18:08
Even if it was, Cook wouldn't know.
18:11
The truth is, the state doesn't even
18:12
know.
18:13
And they've tried asking twice.
18:15
Earlier this year, the Public
18:17
Utility Commission sent out a survey
18:19
asking for details about each
18:21
data center's water use.
18:23
Texas House Committee hearing,
18:24
State Rep. Mary Gonzalez asked a
18:26
data center industry representative
18:28
How many of your member entities
18:30
filled out the survey sent
18:32
out by the state?
18:36
Less than a third of
18:38
the state's 341 data centers
18:40
responded.
18:42
Survey, the state's Water
18:43
Development Board asked data centers
18:44
how much they're using.
18:45
Only 17% of them responded,
18:48
despite it being required by law.
18:49
Just so I understand, so the
18:51
response rate that you speak of, is
18:53
that the same data you're collecting
18:55
for state water planning?
18:56
But that's Representative Brad
18:58
Buckley, a Republican from Bell
18:59
County.
19:00
He's talking to Temple McKinnon.
19:02
She oversees the state's water
19:04
supply planning.
19:05
Yes, sir.
19:06
It's the bedrock of our state water
19:08
plan.
19:08
Okay, so we're building a state
19:09
water plan off of the 17 percent
19:11
response rate.
19:13
Is that an overstatement?
19:15
Well, it's...
19:16
Yeah, so, we have to do a lot of,
19:17
whatever you call it, extrapolation.
19:19
Yes, we do.
19:20
Yeah, I mean, that is a terrible
19:22
response rate
19:23
Not knowing how much water is being
19:25
used now makes it harder to
19:27
plan for Texas' future water needs.
19:29
But that's not the only problem.
19:31
We also don't know how much
19:32
electricity we'll need to power all
19:34
of these data centers.
19:35
And how all of that new demand is
19:37
going to affect the price of
19:38
electricity.
19:39
Electric prices have already
19:41
gone up 20 to 25 percent
19:43
since 2020.
19:45
In Texas alone, they've gone up 29
19:48
percent.
19:48
Allison Silverstein is a former
19:50
state
19:51
and federal energy regulator.
19:52
Now, there's lots of things
19:54
contributing to those higher
19:55
electricity prices.
19:57
Aging infrastructure, supply chain
19:59
issues.
20:00
And more high demand projects like
20:02
data centers.
20:03
They need things like more high
20:05
voltage transmission lines and more
20:07
power plants.
20:08
Those cost increases within
20:09
ERCOT for
20:11
transmission are assigned
20:14
across every retail
20:16
customer in Texas.
20:18
So there is no escaping those.
20:21
Even if there's no data center being
20:22
built in your neighborhood, your
20:24
wallet might still feel it.
20:26
This is something that worries a lot
20:27
of people.
20:28
Including, at least lately,
20:30
state officials.
20:31
Here's Governor Greg Abbott at a
20:33
campaign stop last month.
20:34
Any AI data center even thinking
20:36
about coming here, they got to bring
20:37
their own money, bring their own
20:39
power, reuse their own water,
20:41
and do it in a way that
20:43
reduces the cost of electricity
20:46
for residents across our state.
20:48
Developers do sometimes plan
20:50
to bring their own power generation,
20:52
like putting in a natural gas
20:53
power plant right next door to their
20:55
data center.
20:56
But Allison Silverstein says that
20:58
doesn't really solve
20:59
the whole problem.
21:00
Even if they are building
21:02
all these energy resources
21:04
inside the fence of the facility,
21:07
they are still increasing
21:09
costs for everybody.
21:11
Silverstein says that data centers
21:12
are.
21:13
Mostly cost indifferent.
21:15
Meaning when there's steep
21:16
competition for resources like
21:17
transformers and gas turbines,
21:19
things needed for electricity
21:21
generation, they'll pay a lot more
21:23
to get to the front of the line.
21:24
That means the people selling that
21:26
stuff can charge more for it.
21:28
So when your local utility needs to
21:30
buy a new transformer or gas
21:32
turbine, they also have to dish out
21:33
more cash.
21:34
And this goes beyond infrastructure
21:36
to all parts of energy generation.
21:38
From natural gas prices to paying
21:40
plumbers and electricians.
21:43
ERCOT has gotten requests for almost
21:44
500 gigawatts of power from
21:46
the Texas grid.
21:48
That's enough electricity to power
21:49
every home in America.
21:51
All of that is definitely not
21:53
gonna come online, but the
21:55
question is, well, how much of it
21:57
will?
21:57
Brian Korgel is the director of
21:59
UT Austin's Energy Institute.
22:01
He says the majority of those
22:03
requests come from data centers.
22:05
Are we really going to double our
22:06
grid, or will it more be like a
22:08
20% increase or something over
22:10
five years?
22:11
And even that increase is going to
22:13
be pretty massive.
22:14
That uncertainty is a huge
22:16
challenge for ERCOT.
22:18
They know they need to expand the
22:19
grid's capacity to account for these
22:21
new electricity users, but
22:23
they don't know.
22:24
By how much.
22:25
That's part of why this week
22:27
Governor Abbott ordered a pause on
22:29
data centers trying to connect to
22:30
the grid. He wants the state to get
22:32
a better idea of their water
22:33
electricity needs.
22:35
What's gonna happen is that
22:37
data centers won't get built.
22:39
So the big question is,
22:41
you know, can Texas keep up with
22:43
this promise of economic
22:45
development?
22:47
That's the question elected
22:48
officials across the state are
22:49
asking themselves.
22:52
Council are we ready to vote?
22:54
Okay. It's been hours since the
22:56
start of the City Council meeting in
22:57
San Marcos.
22:58
Yes, and we only need
23:00
four for that.
23:02
After hearing testimony from
23:04
hundreds of community members,
23:06
the council is ready to take a vote.
23:09
Okay, the motion passes five to two
23:10
with two council members saying
23:12
no with Councilmember
23:14
Mendoza-Gonzalez.
23:15
The council votes to block the data
23:17
center in Tory Martin's backyard.
23:19
So, hold
23:21
on a second, hold just one
23:23
second, let's get clarity.
23:25
It's 2 a.m.
23:26
On a Wednesday morning after an
23:28
eight-hour meeting, and folks won't
23:30
stop cheering.
23:32
Which means the zoning item,
23:34
hold on y'all,
23:37
hold on.
23:40
But in the council chambers, some
23:42
members, even those who voted to
23:44
block it, see this as a missed
23:46
opportunity.
23:46
We have like this golden goose
23:48
egg here though that could have
23:50
solved a lot of economic stuff.
23:51
And I just want, I want to say that
23:53
out loud because I don't want to be
23:54
disingenuous.
23:55
That's Councilmember Josh Poselk.
23:57
He doesn't think it's a matter of
23:59
this data center getting built or
24:00
not built. He thinks it's just a
24:02
matter of where it'll go and who
24:04
gets to benefit.
24:05
I know that there's other data
24:07
centers being proposed and come
24:08
across the way and man,
24:11
it's if we get one that goes right
24:12
across the street, you know,
24:14
and we had an opportunity at
24:16
really a
24:18
good option for us.
24:20
I understand all the drawbacks that
24:22
have been paid out here so I'm not
24:23
trying to discredit that and thank
24:24
you for your time for bringing that
24:25
to our attention.
24:27
But the economic piece of this
24:29
is very important.
24:31
But are data centers really
24:33
a golden goose egg for a community?
24:36
How much do they lift up local
24:37
economy?
24:38
And how long does that lift last?
24:41
That's next week.
24:43
Center next door.
24:44
I'm Kaylee Hunt, I'm Katie McAfee,
24:46
and I'm Lee Walden in San Marcos.
24:49
And you can find the first story
24:51
in this series over at our website,
24:53
KUT.org,
24:55
and listen each Wednesday in August
24:57
for the rest of the stories in
24:59
our Data Center Next Door
25:01
series.
25:02
Well, that is it for us today here
25:04
on Austin Signal.
25:05
There's more about the stories we
25:07
shared with you in today's podcast
25:08
show notes and at KUT
25:11
dot org slash signal.
25:13
Rene Chavez is our technical
25:15
director, Alexandra Hart is
25:17
our producer, and Kristen Cabrera
25:19
is our managing producer.
25:21
I'm your host, Jerry Kikano.
25:23
Austin Signal is back at the same
25:24
time tomorrow.
25:25
We'll talk to you then.