Latest news with #Lancium
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Haskell County eyes potential future with microreactors, Google data center
HASKELL, Texas () – Haskell County is embracing the future of technology, positioning itself as a potential hub for cutting-edge energy solutions. The county could soon be home to microreactors designed to power data centers, including sites like Lancium in Abilene. Haskell County to host 30 microreactors for Texas data centers Last Energy, the company spearheading the project, plans to build 30 microreactors on 200 acres in Haskell County. These reactors would supply energy to data centers across Texas through a mix of private wire and grid transmission. Haskell Mayor Christina Isbell says the $100 million project could bring significant benefits to the West Texas town. 'There could be anywhere from 3-500 people in the area working on all these projects. So when they come to Haskell and they shop at our stores, get gas here, eat at our restaurants, it helps our tax revenue,' Isbell said. 'I know that is going to bring quite a few good jobs to our Haskell, somewhere between 70 and 80 full-time positions when it's up and running.' The Last Energy Haskell County Project is a proposed micro-nuclear power plant that would provide clean energy with a lifespan of 40 years. The facility is planned for a 200-acre site at the intersection of County Road 268 and Farm-to-Market Road 266. Haskell County Judge Kenny Thompson said the area has already benefited from clean energy projects like wind and solar. 'It's been a boost to the county. The part about the green energy coming here, it's really helped on our budget and taxes. We've kept taxes down to a minimum and not had to increase rates,' Thompson said. Another major project in the works is the Cloud West Center, a proposed Google-owned data center. If both projects move forward, Mayor Isbell says the impact could be even greater than anticipated. 'It's going to be called the Cloud West Campus, and it just talks about the energy and tech leadership. And I do know that they've talked about that once that data centers open, that's probably another 50 jobs that would be out there,' Isbell explained. MORE DETAILS: Abilene announced for largest AI infrastructure project with $500 billion+ investment Judge Thompson also addressed concerns about the microreactor project, emphasizing its safety. 'We think of nuclear energy as a scary thing somewhat. After reading about nuclear energy, it's actually a more efficient way of producing electricity,' Judge Thompson said. '[Last Energy] told us the earliest would be summer 2029 and they're working on getting a federal permit for nuclear energy. They will also have permitting from the state of Texas.' The county granted Cloud West Center a 50% tax abatement, and some members of the Haskell community were required to sign NDAs regarding the project. For now, both projects remain in the planning stages. Thompson said, 'It's not a done deal yet.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Abilene City Council to continue discussion on spay/neuter mandate, paid parking downtown
ABILENE, Texas () – Abilene City Council will take up several major issues this week, including a proposed animal ordinance that's sparked debate among pet owners and breeders. The ordinance, which would require spaying and neutering for most cats and dogs over six months old, has drawn pushback from residents concerned about costs, animal health, and its impact on competitive dog shows. The council will also discuss a potential downtown paid parking program, land expansion for the Lancium project, and new vehicle purchases for city departments at Thursday's meeting. Abilene pet owners made their voices heard at the city council meeting on February 14th, sharing their concerns with the council regarding a potential new animal ordinance under Chapter 6, 'Animals and Fowls.' This potential change includes mandating spaying/neutering for all dogs and cats over six months old unless the owner holds a Commercial Breeder's Permit issued by the City. Residents expressed concerns that the ordinance was not based on current research on the health of individual animals, as well as about the cost and how the mandate would affect members of the American Kennel Club who compete in dog shows. City of Abilene considers spay/neuter mandate, 'Aggressive Dog' category At the February 24th city council preview, City Manager Robert Hanna explained that the council has listened to these concerns and is even meeting with A.K.C National to hear more concerns about the wording of the ordinance. This topic will be discussed in more detail at the city council meeting on Thursday, February 27, at 8:30 a.m. at Abilene's City Hall. 'We've got a lot of feedback from people in the community on this, predominantly from the American Kennel Club. I've got a meeting with AKC National just to hear some of their concerns about the language of the ordinance. Our intent is not to diminish people's ability to do a hobby, show the dogs, or those sorts of things, but we want to make sure that we have regulations that are allowing for the responsible pet ownership,' explained Hanna. Hanna hopes that the City is able to make adjustments both parties will be happy with. 'So, we've amended the language to state you and your family make the decision of when [spaying/neutering] is best done for the dog's health and well-being, but it still has to be done eventually unless you're a show person and you can get a permit for that or a breeder,' added Hanna. Abilene city council to discuss tax exemptions for day cares, paid parking, more during annual retreat Another topic to be discussed at this week's city council meeting is a paid parking program for downtown Abilene. This was first introduced back in January at the city council retreat, which is time for the council to work on the goals and changes they want to see in 2025. Assistant City Manager Michael Rice said this potential change could allow more people to visit downtown and shop. 'We are recommending paid parking in a couple of public lots, specifically the lot across from the hotel there between 5th and 6th on Cypress and then the other one would be the lot at the corner of Second and Pine. We learned we've got people that are parking their 24/7 for free. That was not what these lights were created for. It was created, once again, for the parking for customers to come and to shop, and then as they finish, allow additional space for other customers,' shared Rice. If approved, parking will be through an app called Park Mobile, which is already in use in some larger cities in Texas, such as Austin and Fort Worth. Other topics expected to be discussed at Thursday's meeting include absorbing more land into city limits for the Lancium project and the potential purchase of 7 new vehicles for police and other city departments. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lancium's potential impact on AISD: Taxpayers could see reduction due to 'eye-popping' numbers
ABILENE, Texas () – The Lancium Campus, part of the Stargate Project, is projected to bring revenue into the county and Abilene Independent School District Superintendent Dr. John Kuhn says the school district could also benefit. Roundtable: The opportunities & challenges of Abilene's new AI data campus 'The estimates that I've seen and the things that I heard talked about on a federal level really are pretty eye-popping numbers as far as the eventual value of that project,' Kuhn said. The project's tax will go toward the AISD's interest and sinking fund, which repays voter-approved bonds for major capital improvements. However, Texas law prevents the district's maintenance and operations budget from benefiting directly from the artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. Kuhn stated that the anticipated financial impact could significantly alter the situation. 'Any type of massive project like this is going to have a positive impact on the school district's ability to especially raise funds through bond elections, which is how we construct facilities, new schools, and things like that,' Kuhn explained. Abilene City Council weighs large tax abatement for Lancium The district has already initiated internal discussions regarding the potential next steps. Various options are being considered to address the community's future needs. 'We, at some point, do need to figure out a way to make some physical improvements, particularly to our secondary schools, our high schools especially, but also our middle schools. Those types of improvements require money that we currently don't have, so a future bond election would be a consideration for sure,' Kuhn said. The potential benefits not only extend to the school district, but also to local homeowners who stand to gain. 'In the short term, as this project comes online, it will save taxpayers money because it will reduce the tax burden on residential homeowners. Because the Lancium project has such high value in it, they will be paying school taxes,' Kuhn said. As for when the district could start seeing those financial benefits, Kuhn says that remains to be seen. 'Informally, I've heard that the idea is to ramp up this project really, really quickly. We feel like we're going to see immediate increases to our tax base because there are already structures going up right now,' Kuhn said. 'AI is the new global arms race': Expert says Abilene is a key player in worldwide AI growth Kuhn also provided a statement that offers additional insights into this revenue. EDITORS NOTE: Any estimates included in the statement below are based on the partial and unverified information that Kuhn has seen regarding the potential total project value of Lancium and should not be interpreted as guarantees. In the old days, when a multi-billion dollar project like Lancium arrived in a school district, the school district essentially won a lottery and would be flush with cash for maintenance and operations (M &O), which is the main portion of ISD costs. (M&O is used for everything from staff salaries and benefits to bus fuel to paying the electric bill.) A famous example of this olden-days windfall is Glen Rose ISD when the nuclear power plant was built there. The district's budgeted revenue rose greatly because of that project's impact on taxable value in the ISD. Unfortunately for Abilene ISD right now, such a windfall on the M&O side is no longer possible. Here's why: starting in or around 2005, the Texas legislature changed school funding formulas so that ISDs are locked into a funding reality where local revenue and state assistance are combined to create a fixed total funding level. As a result of this change, when local tax receipts rise due to a massive increase in local property value, the state of Texas reduces the level of state-provided funding directed to the ISD. The district's total M&O revenue remains static. When local revenues rise, state revenues fall by the same amount. Nevertheless, even though the Lancium project won't result in a windfall for AISD on the maintenance and operations side, it will still greatly benefit AISD. There is a second side of our tax rate that isn't the maintenance and operations (M&O) side. It's called Interest and Sinking (I&S). This is the portion of local school taxes used to repay voter-approved bonds that fund major capital improvements, like the LIFT. The current total AISD tax rate is $0.9924 per $100 valuation. (This means that for every $100 of value of a property, the property owner pays a bit over 99 cents on school taxes.) Of that total, $0.689 per $100 valuation is for maintenance and operations (M&O) and $0.3034 per $100 valuation is for interest and sinking (I&S). (You can find our historical tax rates here: The Lancium project can help AISD in two big ways. First, the I&S tax rate that must be levied to cover bond payments will fall significantly as the full value of the project comes online. The school district did not abate the property taxes for this project, so the business entity will have to pay full school taxes. As a result of this, the property value is so high that it will cover a large portion of the I&S revenue needs. In other words, the portion of I&S taxes paid by residential homeowners and non-Lancium business owners will drop as Lancium pays its very large share. This project will almost certainly reduce AISD taxpayers' school taxes by a nontrivial amount. In fact, based on early estimates of the maximum value of the project, it is possible that the school taxes on an average home in AISD could decrease by over $100 per year when the Lancium project reaches its full valuation. (Note that this is based on valuation estimates I've seen in the media and should not be taken by anyone as a guarantee, as those values are not at all official.) The second major way this project can benefit AISD is, put simply, it can create enough bond capacity to allow us to finally address our aging facilities, especially our high schools. Our current I&S rate is just over 30 cents per $100 valuation. The statutory maximum rate that an ISD can set for I&S is 50 cents per $100 valuation. This means there is an absolute limit on the number of dollars an AISD bond can possibly generate. When valuation rises significantly (as it will as a result of the Lancium project), the absolute limit on dollars that can be generated also rises. Right now, AISD cannot generate enough I&S revenue—even if we were to max out our I&S rate to 50 cents per $100 valuation—to build a single state-of-art-high school…much less two. The Lancium project changes that calculus dramatically. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Roundtable: The opportunities & challenges of Abilene's new AI data campus
ABILENE, Texas () – City leaders from across Abilene gathered for the annual State of the City address, highlighting key issues shaping the daily lives and future of Abileneans. Among the topics was one making national headlines—the clean energy Lancium campus that will host what President Donald Trump has called the largest artificial intelligence project in history. DCOA highlights Abilene's role in Trump's historic $500 billion AI infrastructure project Abilene has been a part of global discussions on data center development and AI since the announcement that Stargate—a project backed by a $500 billion investment—will call the Key City home. Set to be located at the Lancium campus, a development three years in the making, this project has been made possible in part by the efforts of the Development Corporation of Abilene (DCOA). During the 2025 State of the City address roundtable conversation, DCOA President and CEO Misty Mayo emphasized that they are 'laser-focused' on two goals that will drive Abilene's growth: 'We're working every day to grow the future for you and your family members… The two things are growing the commercial tax base and growing new jobs because with new jobs and a new tax base, we're able to guarantee the prosperity of our community for years to come,' Mayo explained. 'Lancium, of course, is the most notable, I will say. Over the last five years, we've worked at the DCOA to attract 40 company expansions. That is a record number. Most of the largest projects in the history of our community have happened in the last five years. What I'm talking about is these companies like Lancium and Crusoe are making a commitment to be a part of our community. They're making a commitment to spend their money in Abilene and grow that commercial tax base.' Mayo also highlighted how this partnership marks the beginning of a new industry for Abilene. 'When we're able to grow the commercial tax base and diversify the types of jobs and the types of industries, that diversification is a strength and is a future for Abilene.' Locals weigh in: How Stargate benefits Abilene and Taylor County One concern residents have raised is the impact this project could have on the area's water supply. Abilene City Manager Robert Hanna reassured the public that Lancium prioritizes environmental responsibility and works to minimize its footprint. 'They have a new way, or a responsible way, of cooling their systems with a closed loop system, and we are working with them, and they're working with us to be able to do industrial pre-treatment and the discharge of that water as it leaves the system, so it's available to be used again in other areas as it goes through the nature's process and our treatment facilities. I really want to applaud them publicly for thinking about coming here to West Texas,' Hanna explained. Hanna also addressed concerns about how Lancium would operate during extreme weather events, such as the 2021 winter storm that left many without power and water. 'We had a citizen come to the councilman today and talk about what's going to happen if we have another winter storm again. The beauty of Lancium's approach is that they're planning ahead for that,' Hanna said. 'They're making sure they have the energy resources and energy production capability to handle their own needs, so they're not going to be this big drain on the grid. So I'm excited that they're here. I'm excited about their community engagement and the responsible nature in which they're growing their business.' 'AI is the new global arms race': Expert says Abilene is a key player in worldwide AI growth Mayor Weldon Hurt echoed that enthusiasm, emphasizing the significance of this development for Abilene. 'We are excited about Lancuim being here, and we're proud of Abilene, Texas, Taylor County; this area is going to have the biggest data center in the country, maybe in the world,' Hurt expressed. 'These are questions that we asked these companies. We asked about water, we asked about the use of power, and they gave us responsible answers. I just want to say once again that we are excited that they are here.' Click to explore how Lancium and Stargate are shaping the future right here in Abilene. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
