Overview
- Hood County commissioners twice voted to reject the developer’s settlement offer and permit appeal on Oct. 13, citing incomplete plans and missing details on drainage, on-site power generation and a water source.
- Developer Ryan Hughes of Sailfish Investors warned in an Oct. 1 email and at the meeting that he will sue the county if it does not settle and said he could build a much larger project without local restrictions.
- Hughes had offered concessions that would shrink the campus to about 1,375 acres and voluntary controls on setbacks, closed-loop cooling, light pollution and road repairs, but commissioners said those promises were not enforceable without full plans.
- Local residents and the group Protect the Paluxy Valley opposed the project because of its proximity to Dinosaur Valley State Park and the Paluxy River, and they had pledged immediate legal action if the county approved the campus.
- The fight reflects a larger state debate: Gov. Greg Abbott endorsed Comanche Circle under new data-center rules for water and grid protections, NRG withdrew a proposed gas plant in June leaving power plans unclear, and court challenges now appear likely.