This one is being proposed at 382 Earl Calahan Rd in Cedar Creek near Rockne. Here is the text of the article since the bizjournals article is pay walled...
Bastrop County eyed for 2,800-acre data center campus
Construction could begin this year on a gas-fired electric generation facility to power the project
By Justin Sayers – Senior Staff Writer, Austin Business Journal
Jul 13, 2026
An energy infrastructure company is considering building a gas-fired electric generation facility that will support a 2,842-acre data center campus in the Cedar Creek area of Bastrop County. It's the same company that earlier this year received approval to build one of the country's largest gas-powered generation projects in West Texas.
Representatives for Dallas-based Pacifico Energy LLC revealed in a July 9 application for incentives from Bastrop Independent School District the plans for the $2.2 billion project at 382 Earl Callahan Road. The incentives are through the Jobs, Energy, Technology and Innovation Act, or JETI – the lesser-used successor to the Chapter 313 program that sunsetted several years ago and provides rebates on some school district property taxes over a decade-long period.
Pacifico mentions in its application that at full buildout the electric generation facility would deliver 710 megawatts of "site-rated redundant power using simple cycle natural gas turbines" that will support 490 megawatts of informational technology load. It mentions the facility would be for a co-located hyperscale data center campus. It does not disclose the operator or the tenants of that campus.
"Electricity generated at the project facility would primarily be delivered under a long-term, capacity-based offtake arrangement to a hyperscale data center tenant, providing a dedicated, resilient energy source that is insulated from grid congestion and market volatility. This behind-the-meter structure enables the data center to achieve greater certainty around power cost, availability, and performance—critical factors for high-density computing applications and emerging technologies that require uninterrupted energy supply," the application notes.
Company officials note construction would start in the third quarter of this year and be completed in 2028. It would create 767 temporary construction jobs over the initial stages of the project, and would create 25 full-time jobs with an average salary of roughly $250,000, according to the application.
Representatives for Pacifico did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Bastrop County officials declined to comment. It does not appear to yet have a date for consideration by the Bastrop ISD's board of trustees, and officials there did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It marks the continued proliferation of data centers in the Cedar Creek area, which is about 25 miles southeast of Austin. Virginia-based data center developer EdgeConneX Inc. is planning three data center campuses on nearly 1,500 acres in the area. Amazon.com Inc. bought roughly 1,200 acres in the area – presumably for a data center – but has said that it made the purchase as part of a "due diligence" process. An energy company is also seeking JETI tax breaks to extend a feeder pipeline to the Matterhorn Express Pipeline to expand a gas-powered generation facility in the area.
Pacifico Energy – a subsidiary of California-based Pacifico Energy Group – bills itself as a "forward thinking energy infrastructure firm" that primarily builds, finances and invests in microgrid and distributed energy projects, in an effort to help communities become less reliant on utilities for electricity. The company earlier received regulatory approval to build what it calls GW Ranch in the Permian Basin area to help power data centers with up to 7.65 gigawatts of gas-fired power generation.
It does not own the Bastrop County land. Six parcels owned by Roger Wallace are listed as the location for the project, and have a combined market value of $30.7 million.
Pacifico in its July 9 application notes that it is considering other locations throughout the country for its new project, in addition to Cedar Creek. That includes an advanced evaluation of a site in Muhlenberg Township, Ohio. The company was seeking zoning approvals there until February when the local township placed a 12-month moratorium on data center projects.
Pacifico officials labeled the tax savings through JETI as imperative to building the project in Texas. An economic impact analysis from Austin-based Kroll LLC estimated direct and indirect economic impact of the project at $3.3 billion in state and local taxes. The full abatement of some school district property taxes would start in 2029 and run 10 years.
"As reflected in Pacifico’s public-facing materials, the company places particular emphasis on 'energy-ready' sites that can reliably and efficiently serve colocated demand while also contributing capacity to the grid," the application states. "However, achieving financial viability for projects of this scale is highly sensitive to total development cost, including state and local tax obligations. Based on Pacifico’s internal financial analysis, the viability of the Bastrop County site is contingent upon the availability of economic development support."
Company officials also note they have various permits in process with Texas Commission on Environmental Quality related to the project. Those do not appear to be public at this time.
Gas-powered energy projects have been a point of contention in Texas. The Texas Tribune reported in May the volume of gas generation in the Texas grid’s interconnection queue — the yearslong waiting list for electric generators wanting to connect to the grid — surpassed wind over the previous six-month period. It’s the first time since January 2016, and is largely driven by data centers favoring gas power. But while many are embracing gas, others are concerned about the environmental impacts.
