OPINION
By Jon Mark Hogg
Data Center hysteria is running rampant in San Angelo and across the country. State and national politicians are weighing in, proposing legislative moratoriums on all new data center construction.
Of course not all data centers are created equal. There are different types and different sizes with different resource needs.
There are also legitimate concerns about the process through which data centers are located and constructed, what resources they will use, and whether tax dollars should be used to support their development.
But the simple fact is, they are necessary.
As this century advances, they will become even more necessary.
What Alternatives Do We Have?
If we do not want any new data centers built what is our solution?
Do we limit the amount of cloud storage available to each person? Will you be allowed to use only one social media account? Can we store government and business records electronically indefinitely or do I have to start printing everything out and paying to keep physical storage space…again?
Most people do not realize how much of the convenience of the modern world from hotel reservations, to online grocery orders, to listening to your favorite books or music all depend on the amount of data storage available.
As much as everyone complains about artificial intelligence, it has already become an ordinary part of every day life. Every “Google” search you enter is now powered by AI. All document management systems use it now.
We Need Constructive Critics
Critics love the convenience big data brings but not the reality of how it is delivered.
The great irony is that opposition to data centers is heavily dependent on the very data centers they oppose in order to organize.
We want more and faster internet, more and better services, but we do not want to provide the space and infrastructure such services require. At least not in our backyard. The people who oppose data centers, depend on them every day to do their work and live their lives.
Critics should spend more time coming up with alternative solutions to our growing data storage needs, and the construction of data centers, than just fighting to stop them.
Get Informed
The Concho Observer has published many opinions critiquing or in opposition to data center construction which you can find here:
OPINION –
Remove Hype From Hyperscale Data Centers
Nobody Should Have to Live with Data Centers
Round Rock Shows How To Handle Data Centers
Data Center Governance: Balancing Growth and Stability
NEWS –
From December 2025: Residents Eager for Answers About Data Centers
From February 2026: Few New Data Center Details Revealed at Summit
From March 2026: Planning Commission Tables Data Center Regs
2 Comments
Will ERCOT be able to support increased demand and will the data centers have favorable SLAs at the expense of residential customers?
Thanks, Joh Mark, for the pragmatic reminder about how some data centers quietly respond to basic 21st century business and individual needs. However, no matter how benign or aggressive each data center’s scope and purpose, they all represent potential local, even regional, high-impact infrastructure.
To sort out how high their impact may or may not be, they ALL need to be received, and processed through to final approval, by structured governance, including front-end loaded impact studies and two-way, face-to-face public engagement. If initial trigger-condition consideration indicates relatively light impact, they can proceed nominally; otherwise, much more thorough evaluation becomes crucial.
That’s what the Critical Infrastructure Verification & Impact Governance model (CIVIG) was created to do.
San Angelo, and imminently even Tom Green County, would do well to review CIVIG, then deliberate adapting or adopting it’s high-impact front-end approach ‘yesterday’. Hopefully thereafter, neither they nor their constituents will be overwhelmed by these significantly impactful 21st century projects appearing in their midst.
https://conchoobserver.com/data-center-governance-balancing-growth-and-stability/