CloudBurst Wins Approval for 1.2GW Data Center Campus on 706 Acres in Texas
May 7, 2026
CloudBurst Wins Approval for 1.2GW Data Center Campus on 706 Acres in Texas
A massive data center development in Texas has cleared a critical regulatory hurdle, signaling continued rapid expansion of the state’s digital infrastructure sector. CloudBurst, a Colorado-based data center developer, received final approval from the Guadalupe Commissioners Court on April 21 for a 706-acre campus near San Marcos, just outside San Antonio. The project, which will span both Hays and Guadalupe counties, is expected to deliver up to 1.2 gigawatts (GW) of IT capacity upon full build-out, making it one of the largest data center campuses in the region.
The approval came alongside a $500 million tax abatement package and a formal development agreement, both passed by a narrow one-vote margin. CloudBurst plans to invest $14.5 billion to construct between 10 and 12 data center buildings on the site, totaling approximately 3 million square feet (278,709 square meters). The campus will be developed in three phases of 400MW each, with the first phase scheduled to break ground in 2026 and reach completion by 2027. An initial 50MW phase has already begun construction and is expected to go live in the fourth quarter of 2026.
CloudBurst has stated that the facility will employ closed-loop cooling technology and rely on behind-the-meter power generation to meet its energy demands. The company estimates the project will generate approximately $120 million in annual tax revenue for the local community and the counties involved. However, the approval process was not without controversy. A majority of attendees at the Commissioners Court meeting voiced opposition to the project, citing concerns over environmental impact and potential adverse health effects from the facility. A petition opposing the data center has since gathered more than 1,200 signatures.
The development underscores the growing demand for large-scale data center capacity in Texas, driven by cloud computing and artificial intelligence workloads. CloudBurst, founded in 2022, is also developing a 200MW campus in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, positioning itself as an emerging player in the hyperscale data center market. The San Marcos campus, once fully operational, will be a significant contributor to the region's digital economy, though local opposition highlights the increasing tension between infrastructure growth and community concerns.
Source: datacenterdynamics
