XPost: talk.politics.guns, dfw.politics, talk.environment   
   XPost: sac.politics, alt.politics.republicans   
   From: pharma-poison@lynkuet.com   
      
   City officials tabled a vote Tuesday over a power conglomerate’s request   
   for more land to operate a data center in southeast Fort Worth.   
      
   City Council members cited concerns about potential impact on   
   infrastructure and resources, requesting more information about the   
   project’s plans.   
      
   Black Mountain, the Fort Worth-based power giant, has obtained and   
   rezoned over 450 acres for a planned $10 billion data center.   
      
   The company and its CEO Rhett Bennett requested City Council members   
   approve rezoning 80 acres from agricultural to light industrial use in a   
   Feb. 10 meeting. The land is split into two zoning items, with one   
   requesting the rezoning of 42 acres and the other 38 acres.   
      
   City leaders were originally set to vote on the zone change for the 42   
   acres in a January meeting.   
      
   Black Mountain received approval from the zoning commission in meetings   
   from December and January to rezone the 80 acres.   
      
   The company has pursued multiple zoning cases beginning in January 2025.   
   If both zone change requests are ultimately approved by Fort Worth City   
   Council members, the company’s land for the data center would total   
   around 530 acres.   
      
   Council member Jeanette Martinez said she was not comfortable moving   
   forward with the amended zoning due to a lack of information regarding   
   the impacts of data centers and how it would affect the city’s   
   infrastructure and resources.   
      
   Council member Chris Nettles requested the company return March 10 with   
   the proposed land changes, along with clarifications explaining whether   
   the additional land parcels are needed for more construction of the data   
   center.   
      
   “I need real clarity of what the whole complex is going to look like,”   
   Nettles said.   
      
   The project has drawn criticism from the public, including neighboring   
   businesses and residents.   
      
   Sue Weston’s business, Weston Gardens, sits roughly 100 yards from Black   
   Mountain’s land. She and other residents asked council members in   
   September to reject the zoning change, emphasizing the data center would   
   hinder nearby businesses and impact natural areas due to noise   
   pollution, traffic congestion and water usage.   
      
   Bennett said in response that the company took its neighbors into   
   account and plans to include a buffer to mitigate noise disturbances.   
   The project will rely on well water and the city’s municipal water   
   supply, he explained.   
      
   Large data centers can consume as much as 5 million gallons a day —   
   enough water to supply a town between 10,000 and 50,000 people,   
   according to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute.   
      
   The facilities also require hundreds of megawatts of electricity. A   
   single megawatt can power the average American home for over a month.   
      
   Letitia Wilbourn, an environmental justice advocate and Echo Heights   
   resident, said Black Mountain representatives should have met with   
   residents and community leaders from neighboring areas, including the   
   cities of Arlington, Mansfield and Kennedale, to notify them of   
   potential impacts.   
      
   She described the area where the data center will sit as “already highly   
   polluted.”   
      
   The company met with city officials with Forest Hill and Everman in   
   February to discuss project plans, said Bob Riley, a consultant with   
   engineering firm Halff, the company working with Black Mountain.   
      
   Black Mountain did not immediately respond to the Fort Worth Report’s   
   request for an interview.   
      
   State records show the company has plans to operate other data centers   
   across various counties in North Texas.   
      
   A company listed as Fort Worth Power Core LLC, which shares the same   
   mailing address as Black Mountain, obtained air quality permits issued   
   by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the state’s   
   environmental regulation agency. The permits allow the company to   
   operate facilities in:   
      
   Bell County   
   Carson County   
   Fannin County   
   Hale County   
   Jack County   
   Parker County   
   Tarrant County   
   Somervell County   
   Wheeler County   
   Williamson County   
   The permits authorize the company to conduct power generation and   
   electric services, records show.   
      
   Nicole Lopez is the environment reporter for the Fort Worth Report.   
   Contact her at nicole.lopez@fortworthreport.org.   
      
   https://fortworthreport.org/2026/02/11/10b-data-center-hits-wall-after-fo   
   rt-worth-leaders-cite-resources-land-usage-concerns/   
      
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