Amazon plans $65M data center for San Antonio’s far West Side

Amazon is moving forward with plans to build a 109,000-square-foot data center on San Antonio’s far West Side, an estimated $65 million project expected to be completed by September 2028. This facility, located at 2200 Texas 211, is one of three data centers Amazon has filed plans for in San Antonio in March, with others planned for the West and Southeast sides of the city. Amazon Data Services Inc. acquired the 37.5-acre site in 2020. San Antonio, particularly West Bexar and Medina counties, has become a hub for data center development due to its robust power and fiber infrastructure. Other major companies, including Microsoft, Vantage Data Centers, Valero Energy Corp., and CloudHQ, have also established a presence in these areas. Texas overall is experiencing rapid growth in the data center sector, driven by increasing demand for artificial intelligence and cloud computing capabilities. Notably, Meta recently announced a boost in its investment to $10 billion for a facility in El Paso, aiming for 1-gigawatt capacity, while Microsoft is taking over a 2.1-gigawatt data center project in Abilene originally planned by OpenAI, which will include an on-site power plant. Despite the economic benefits, the data center boom in Texas is facing growing opposition. Residents have voiced concerns and protested planned developments, citing strain on vital resources such as water and energy. In response, the Texas Legislature, under the direction of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, is examining the impacts of data center growth on landowners, private property rights, water infrastructure, and community integrity. On a national level, Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders have introduced a bill to impose a pause on data center expansion until national safeguards are established, though its legislative future remains uncertain.