Thursday in Amarillo, leaders discuss AI-driven data center growth and community concerns

As artificial intelligence drives demand for more data centers, Amarillo joined the statewide conversation Thursday with a panel discussion that focused on growth and its impact on local communities. Leaders from government and the tech industry gathered to talk about issues surrounding data centers, including water usage. Former Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush said data centers do not consume as much water as some people claim. “I saw a lot of water pivots in the fields of the Panhandle. And during a hot Texas summer afternoon, two of those water pivots would be the equivalent of the water consumption of a one-gigawatt data center,” Bush said. “I think we had to keep it in perspective that, you know, there's other industries that consume, you know, a lot, a lot of water, but data centers, frankly, when you look at it statewide, do not consume a lot of water.” Oldham County Judge Shawn Ballew, who was part of the panel, discussed how the county is doing with a data center near Vega. “They've been beneficial to operate in the county. But I think that goes back to, in the planning stages, building that relationship with that company to ensure that you get the things for the community that are needed,” Ballew said. Asked whether Texas is handling data centers the right way, Bush said the state is doing better than many others, pointing to energy costs and policy decisions elsewhere. “I think we're doing it better than a lot of other states. So you have states like California that now pay twice as much as the everyday Texan for the power bill,” Bush said. “You have states like Virginia that welcomed over 450 data centers before they passed any cost shifting laws that they, and their ratepayers have seen an increase in their and their payments.” Some attendees said they were disappointed they were only allowed to submit questions in writing and could not ask the panel directly. Kendra Seawright of the Panhandle First Coalition said she wanted more opportunity for community members to ask questions and learn the differences between types of data centers. “Where there's an education part where everyone can kind of get caught up in like the facts of what a data center is and the difference between an enterprise and a hyperscale data center, and why those two things are different,” Seawright said, “then an opportunity for us, for real folks that are in this area, in our community, to ask the questions.” ___________ Follow KVII on social media: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@abc7amarillo Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ABC7Amarillo/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/abc7amarillo Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abc7amarillo/ Have a tip? Email us at kviinews@sbgtv.com Have a video or photo you want to share? Upload it to https://abc7amarillo.com/chimein KVII is a TX based station and an ABC Television affiliate owned and operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group. Sinclair, Inc. is one of the largest and most diversified television broadcasting companies in the country today. Sinclair owns and operates, programs or provides sales services to 163 television stations in 77 markets, after pending transactions. Sinclair's television group reaches approximately 38.7% of US television households and includes FOX, ABC, MyTV, CW, CBS, NBC, Univision and Azteca affiliates. #amarillo #texas #texasnews #abc7 #amarillonews #panhandle #texas