Anthropic considers Texas data center expansion
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Anthropic is eyeing another massive data center project in Central Texas as the AI company's footprint expands across the state.
Why it matters: Anthropic's growth comes as Texas officials, including Gov. Greg Abbott, grapple with how to accommodate power-hungry data centers without straining the state's electric grid.
Driving the news: Anthropic, the maker of Claude, has been tied to at least three massive data center projects in Central Texas.
- The company is in talks to occupy a planned 2,842-acre data center campus near Cedar Creek in Bastrop County, the Austin Business Journal reported this week. The project would include a 710-megawatt natural gas power plant to support the data center.
- Anthropic recently signed a $9.1 billion lease for a data center campus in Rockdale, at the site of the former Alcoa aluminum smelter, per Bloomberg.
- The company also signed leases for a data center campus near Waco that would be paired with its own 1.6-gigawatt natural gas power plant, according to the Wall Street Journal.
What they're saying: "They've got to bring their own money, their own power, reuse their own water and do it in a way that reduces the cost of electricity for residents across our state," Abbott said in July as he called for a ban on data center development in rural neighborhoods.
- Anthropic, Stack Infrastructure and Nightpeak Energy agreed to comply with the governor's new guidelines this month, which require data center operators to pay for their electric infrastructure and reuse their own water.
- Anthropic has said its computing needs require massive investments in new infrastructure, while pledging that its data centers won't leave consumers footing the bill for their electricity demands.
An Axios interview request with Anthropic wasn't immediately returned.
The other side: The Cedar Creek proposal has drawn opposition from nearby residents, including at a community town hall this month.
- Resident group Lost Pines Watch says the site is surrounded by homes, schools and childcare facilities.
- "This is not an appropriate location for industrial-scale development," Lost Pines Watch says on its website.
- The group is also pushing the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to scrutinize the pending air permit for the power plant planned for the site.
Zoom in: Austin officials are considering new restrictions on data center development, including the possibility of banning them within the city limits.
- The City Council could vote Thursday on whether to begin drafting new zoning and permitting rules for data centers.
What's next: Anthropic has not finalized a deal for the Cedar Creek site. Bastrop County officials say they've received development applications, which are under review.