Large-scale solar farm transforms rural Leon County landscape

Residents of Leon County, Texas, are expressing significant opposition to a proposed data center campus, known as the Kahla Project, planned for Jewett, just a quarter-mile from family lands. Daniel McCoslin, whose family has farmed in the area for generations, described the proposed development as destructive to the environment and the rural way of life, anticipating 30 Costco-sized, windowless buildings that generate constant noise. More than 200 residents attended a community meeting in Jewett in January 2026 to voice their concerns. Leon County officials have reportedly invited the developer, Belltown Power, to public meetings, but the company has declined to attend. The local opposition is part of a broader sentiment against large-scale development in rural Texas, with similar concerns about data centers and transmission lines noted in nearby Grimes County. The issue has even reached the federal level, with Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introducing a bill to pause new data center construction nationwide, citing rising electricity costs, environmental impacts, and grid strain. For residents like McCoslin and Rachel Streater, who is fighting a separate solar farm development in Leon County, the struggle against these projects is unifying local communities.