Princeton, TX Data Center Well Permit Approved
BT Aycock Data Center LLC received approval from the North Texas Groundwater Conservation District to drill a well near Princeton that could draw 5.56 million gallons through 2028 and 1.65 million gallons annually afterward. The permit comes as Texas pauses new data center environmental approvals and local residents raise concerns about groundwater strain, power demand and the lack of county zoning authority over the unincorporated site.
BT Aycock Data Center LLC secured a permit in June to drill a 150-gallon-per-minute well on nearly 50 acres outside Princeton in unincorporated Collin County. The well could draw 5.56 million gallons from the Woodbine Aquifer through 2028 and 1.65 million gallons annually during commercial operations. Princeton spokesperson Erin Mudie said the city has received no formal development application, while Collin County official Clarence Daugherty said the county had received no related permitting requests and has limited authority over data center projects in unincorporated areas.
The approval is drawing attention because the aquifer has experienced water-level declines and because Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered audits of data center projects and directed the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to freeze environmental permit approvals for new facilities. Residents have questioned whether the Princeton project will proceed and expressed concerns about water, electricity, noise and environmental impacts. Solstice Data has separately submitted records concerning a potential AI compute campus in the area, while officials and utilities continue to grapple with the rapid growth of data center demand across North Texas.