Darby Reacts to Dove Creek Data Center TCEQ Permit App

SAN ANGELO, TX — State Rep. Drew Darby (R-San Angelo) formally intervened Monday in the proposed Beacon Data Centers project in southwest Tom Green County a hour after San Angelo LIVE! broke the story, citing widespread constituent opposition and a lack of transparency from the company.

In a statement released after meeting with residents of the Dove Creek area over the past four weeks, Darby said today that he has requested that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality hold a public meeting locally on Beacon’s pending air quality permits and has sent a detailed letter to company executives demanding answers on emissions, water use, economic benefits, and other impacts.

“After meeting directly with affected constituents over this past month, and receiving numerous calls and inquiries from others, I issued a formal request today to Beacon Data Centers to answer critical questions raised by the community around their proposed Westline Energy Infrastructure Campus project,” Darby said. “Additionally, in my official capacity as state representative, I have also filed a formal request with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for a local public meeting on all of Beacon Data Centers’ pending air permits with the agency. Local community concerns must always come first in any large-scale development project, and I believe that residents should be given the greatest amount of transparency in this process.”

Request for Local Public Meeting

In a letter dated Aug. 10 to TCEQ Executive Director Kelly Keel, Darby asked the agency to schedule a public meeting in Tom Green County on the Westline 2335 applications before any final decision is issued. The permits listed are HAP93, 184380, PSDTX1710, and GHGPSDTX275.

“Impacted residents deserve the opportunity to be informed of, and heard on, these applications before, not after, a decision is made,” Darby wrote. He noted that the applications remain active and a decision could come at any time.

The air permit applications cover emissions from proposed on-site natural-gas reciprocating engines that would power the data center campus. Public summaries of the filings have drawn attention to projected annual totals of more than 1,100 tons of carbon monoxide, roughly 419 tons of nitrogen oxides, and about 117 tons of sulfur dioxide, along with other pollutants. Industry norms for similar reciprocating-engine facilities point to exhaust stacks typically in the 50- to 80-foot range.

Letter to Beacon Leadership

In a separate three-page letter sent the same day to Beacon CEO David Lane, Chair John Halpin, and Co-Chair Josh Schertzer, Darby said the volume of resident concerns about the Westline site is unlike other projects in House District 72 and warrants direct engagement.

He referenced Governor Greg Abbott’s recent directives that data centers should pay for their own electric infrastructure, reuse their own water, reduce electricity costs for Texans, avoid disrupting residential neighborhoods, and eliminate reliance on taxpayer-funded incentives. Darby asked Beacon to publicly affirm willingness to meet those standards.

The letter poses nine specific questions the company has been asked to answer publicly, covering:

1. Whether the facility will rely primarily on on-site generation, projected particulate emissions and air-quality impacts, mitigation measures, and any natural-gas pipeline plans.
2. Total water demand for cooling and operations, the source of that water, and required new infrastructure.
3. Specifics on any mix of on-site wells, brackish water with desalination, or mesquite removal, and effects on the local aquifer and neighboring agricultural wells.
4. Obligations for site remediation and equipment removal if the project is only partially built or abandoned.
5. Binding commitments on property-tax revenue, job creation, and local investment, plus how those benefits will be measured.
6. Expected increases in road or rail traffic during construction and operation, and steps to address safety, noise, and infrastructure wear.
7. Whether the stated 100-yard buffer around roughly 1,240 buildable acres is contractually guaranteed.
8. Intentions regarding future grid interconnection and any implications for ratepayers and regional reliability.
9. Ongoing processes for residents to raise concerns once the facility is operating, plus a public commitment to state community-impact standards.

Darby also asked Beacon to release campus renderings promptly and to hold additional public town halls. He attached a copy of his TCEQ letter and copied Governor Abbott.

“In rural West Texas, communities come first, and new developments must respect those who live, work, and build their lives here long before any company intends to break ground,” Darby wrote. “It is my assessment that Beacon remains far behind where it needs to be in terms of community support for the proposed Campus.”

Project Background

Beacon has described the Westline Energy Infrastructure Campus as a large-scale data center development on land 0.25 miles south on FM 2335 from U.S. Highway 67 South. Company representatives have previously indicated plans for behind-the-meter natural-gas generation, closed-loop cooling, and a substantial buffer from property lines. Residents in the Dove Creek area have voiced opposition for months over potential air emissions, water use, noise, traffic, and the overall scale of the project.

Darby’s office said he spent significant time in recent weeks meeting one-on-one with constituents who contacted him about the proposal. He emphasized that responsible data-center development can bring economic and national-security benefits but only when built on trust with the affected community.

Residents interested in the permits can monitor TCEQ’s pending air-permit notices for updates on comment periods and any scheduled hearings.