Lubbock City Council to Decide Fate of Proposed AI-Powered Hyperscale Data Center

Lubbock City Council to Decide Fate of Proposed AI-Powered Hyperscale Data Center

January 15, 2026

The future of a major hyperscale data center project designed to support artificial intelligence workloads in Lubbock, Texas, now rests with the city council. This decision highlights the growing tension between the rapid expansion of digital infrastructure, crucial for the AI boom, and local community concerns over resource usage and environmental impact.

The project, proposed by Calvano Development for a site northeast of Lubbock near Municipal Drive and the Idalou highway, faced a setback when the local zoning and planning committee voted against the necessary zoning change. According to John Osborne, president and CEO of the Lubbock Economic Development Alliance (LEDA), the final decision will be made by the Lubbock City Council on February 10, which will vote on whether to uphold or overturn the committee's rejection.

Osborne described the facility as a substantial concrete structure housing numerous computer servers that store vast amounts of information, connected by fiber networks to enable data access for users. During community discussions, significant concerns were raised regarding the project's potential high water consumption, its impact on local solar energy production, and issues related to noise and emissions from the data center operations.

Despite these concerns, Osborne pointed to considerable potential benefits, including the creation of related job opportunities. He emphasized a frequently overlooked advantage: the extensive deployment of fiber optic lines required to serve the data center. "As those fiber networks are built out to the data centers, they often go by residential and commercial areas," Osborne noted, suggesting the project could indirectly enhance broadband infrastructure for the wider community.

The council's upcoming vote is being closely watched as a case study in balancing the infrastructure demands of the accelerating AI industry with local governance and sustainability priorities.

Source: everythinglubbock