If you've followed the discussion about data centers in San Angelo over the past year, you may have noticed something: we're increasingly using the phrase "the data center" when we may actually be talking about several completely different projects.
I've encountered this confusion myself.
Recently, someone commenting on one of videos said something along the lines of, "I thought it was coming to the Dove Creek area."
That's an understandable assumption — but that's a different project.
The project I've spent considerable time documenting northeast of San Angelo near U.S. Highway 67 North and City Farm Road is the proposed Skybox/Emergent project.
The project discussed in connection with Dove Creek is Beacon Data Centers.
And now another company, Cipher Digital, has publicly discussed its own proposed project, known as Colchis, in Tom Green County.
That's at least three different proposed projects, involving different companies, different properties and even different local government jurisdictions.
So perhaps it's time to sort some of this out.
- Skybox / Emergent
This is the project that has probably generated the most public discussion in San Angelo.
The proposed location is northeast of the city near U.S. Highway 67 North and City Farm Road on property owned by the City of San Angelo.
The City Council approved a zoning change for the property in January 2026. Since then, the City has adopted specific regulations addressing data-center land use, water usage and wastewater.
Importantly, however, a proposed project is not the same thing as a completed or fully approved project.
The City of San Angelo's own data-center information page currently states that it has not received a development application from a data center that would establish the final size, utility requirements or development requirements for a facility within the city limits.
That distinction matters.
There are concepts, proposed plans and developer representations associated with Skybox/Emergent, but until the formal development process progresses, some details remain subject to change.
- Beacon Data Centers — Dove Creek / Westline
This is a completely separate project.
Beacon Data Centers publicly emerged in April 2026 as it explored a potential project in the Dove Creek area of Tom Green County.
Beacon representatives subsequently appeared before the Tom Green County Commissioners Court to discuss what has been referred to as the Dove Creek Technology Campus or Westline site.
This project is particularly important when trying to understand the public conversation because it is easy to hear "data center near San Angelo" and assume people are discussing Skybox/Emergent.
They aren't necessarily.
Dove Creek/Westline and Skybox/Emergent are separate proposals in separate locations.
- Cipher Digital — Colchis
Then there is Cipher Digital.
Cipher calls its proposed West Texas development "Colchis." The company currently lists Colchis as a 1,000-megawatt project in its development pipeline, with estimated energization in the 2028–2029 timeframe.
On September 22, Cipher representatives appeared publicly before the Tom Green County Commissioners Court and discussed the project.
The proposed site is northeast of San Angelo near the Red Creek electrical substation and relatively close to the Skybox/Emergent property.
But there is another important distinction:
The Cipher property is outside San Angelo's city limits.
That means we shouldn't automatically apply everything we hear about the City's Skybox/Emergent negotiations, ordinances or requirements to Cipher.
Different project. Different property. Different jurisdiction.
So How Many Data Centers Are Coming?
This is where I think we need to be particularly careful with our language.
There are multiple proposed projects.
That does not necessarily mean multiple data centers are definitely going to be built.
Projects of this size have to clear numerous financial, electrical, engineering, regulatory and development hurdles before servers ever begin operating.
Some proposed projects advance. Others change dramatically. Some never get built.
There have also been public comments and reports suggesting interest from additional data-center developers in the San Angelo area.
Those reports are worth watching.
But until a company, property or project becomes identifiable through reliable public information, I think the responsible way to describe those possibilities is exactly what they are:
Unconfirmed.
Interest is not a project.
A rumor is not an application.
An application is not construction.
And a proposed data center is not an operating data center.
Those distinctions can get lost very quickly in community discussions.
Why San Angelo?
There is also a bigger question emerging from all of this.
Why are multiple companies suddenly looking at this part of West Texas?
One obvious piece of the discussion is electrical infrastructure.
Both the Skybox/Emergent and Cipher projects have been associated with the northeast San Angelo area and access to major electrical infrastructure around the Red Creek substation.
That doesn't guarantee either project will ultimately receive all of the electrical capacity it seeks. ERCOT and the transmission provider have significant roles in determining what large electrical loads can actually be served.
But it helps explain why developers may be looking at particular pieces of property rather than randomly selecting locations around San Angelo.
The City's Northeast Sector Master Plan
There's another part of this story that deserves more attention.
San Angelo retained Westwood Professional Services to assist with development of a Northeast Sector Master Plan.
That is significant because the conversation shouldn't only be about whether one particular data center gets built.
If northeast San Angelo is attracting major industrial and technology investment because of electrical infrastructure, available land and transportation access, the community also needs to think about what development in that area could look like over decades.
Roads.
Utilities.
Industrial development.
Residential buffers.
Emergency services.
Drainage.
Transportation.
Land use.
And yes, data centers.
The data-center regulations adopted by the City in 2026 are already connected to that larger planning process.
In my view, that's where some of the most interesting discussion should go next: not simply "Are you for or against this data center?" but "What do we want this part of San Angelo to look like 10, 20 or 30 years from now?"
A Moving Story
This is also why I think everyone — supporters, opponents and those who haven't decided what they think — should be careful about absolute statements.
This story is moving.
Companies are talking to utilities.
Developers are evaluating properties.
ERCOT is evaluating enormous new electrical loads across Texas.
Local governments are considering infrastructure and development implications.
And residents are asking legitimate questions about water, electricity, roads, taxes, noise, jobs, economic development and quality of life.
We don't have to agree on every one of those issues.
But we should at least make sure we're talking about the same project.
For now, the easiest way to remember it is:
Skybox/Emergent — northeast San Angelo, inside the city.
Beacon — Dove Creek/Westline, Tom Green County.
Cipher Digital — Colchis, northeast of San Angelo near the Red Creek area, outside the city limits.
Anything beyond those publicly identified projects — verify before treating it as fact.
As more information becomes public, that list may change.
And that, perhaps, is the most important point: San Angelo's data-center discussion is no longer really about a single proposed facility.