Data Center Projects in Shackelford County, Texas

Last verified: October 27, 2026 · 2 tracked projects · 7 tracked records

Overview

Texas Data Center Watch tracks two data center projects in Shackelford County.

Vantage "Frontier" mega-campus near Albany is listed as under construction. Vantage announced it in August 2025 as a 1.4 GW, $25B campus on about 1,200 acres (Vantage). In July 2025 the Commissioners Court created Reinvestment Zone 2025-1, accepted Vantage's abatement application and said it intends to sign after the land purchase (Albany News). Texas Data Center Watch has not seen a signed agreement. Proposed terms: $10M/yr PILOT for 10 years (Albany News); KTAB/KRBC reported $10 million for the first 10 years, then the tax rate for the following seven years (KTAB/KRBC). June 2026 TDLR registrations cover multiple "Project Frontier" buildings (e.g., TX304: 453,385 sq ft, est. $1.315B).

Project North (Buck Nail Ranch), about 16 miles west of Albany, is listed as proposed (abatement application under review) and is separate from Vantage. Bolt Data & Energy (applicant Bolt North Holdco LLC, via Merit Advisors) has an estimated $8.8B abatement application per Albany News. The court has delayed action, held a town hall (Aug. 12, 2026), accepted the application and moved to create a citizen advisory committee; commissioners have not approved the project (Albany News; Albany News; KTXS). Company has not confirmed size, water demand, jobs or timeline (KTXS).

Tracked projects

Project	Developer	Status	Capacity / size	Investment	Key dates	Sources
Vantage "Frontier" mega-campus, Albany area	Vantage Data Centers	Under construction	1.4 GW; ~1,200 acres; 10 buildings, ~3.7M sq ft	$25B	Jul 2025 Commissioners Court unanimously created Reinvestment Zone 2025-1, accepted Vantage's abatement application and stated intent to sign a formal agreement once land is purchased (Albany News, Jul 24 2025) · county judge: agreement to be formalized after property transfer (KTAB/KRBC, Jul 31 2025). Signed agreement not confirmed by any opened source. Aug 2025 Frontier announced (Vantage). Jun 29–30 2026 TDLR registrations for "Vantage DC Abilene – TX3 – Project Frontier" buildings TX301–TX311 (TDLR search), e.g., TX304: 453,385 sq ft, est. $1.315B, start Sep 26 2025, completion May 18 2027, status Review Complete (TDLR)	Vantage · Albany News · KTAB/KRBC (via Yahoo) · TDLR TABS
Project North (Buck Nail Ranch), Buck Nail Ranch, about 16 miles west of Albany (KTXS)	Bolt Data & Energy (abatement applicant: Bolt North Holdco LLC, via Merit Advisors)	Proposed (abatement application under review)	Not disclosed; company has not confirmed size, water demand, jobs or timeline (KTXS)	Estimated $8.8B (abatement application, per Albany News)	Jul 13 2026 agenda: hear from Merit Advisors about the prospective Bolt project (official) · Aug 10 2026 agenda: consider Merit Advisors' property tax abatement application for a proposed data center on the recently procured Buck Nail Ranch (official) · court delayed action (Albany News) · Aug 12 2026 town hall at Albany High School, more than 100 residents (Albany News · KTXS) · Aug 24 2026 agenda: legal representation for the Merit Advisors/Bolt Energy abatement application (official) · Monday before Sep 17 2026 court unanimously accepted Bolt North Holdco LLC's abatement application and moved to create a citizen advisory committee for negotiations (Albany News) · Sep 28 2026 agenda: executive session on the Citizens Advisory Committee for an abatement agreement with Bolt North Holdco, LLC (official). Commissioners have not approved the project (KTXS, Aug 13 2026). Separate from Vantage Frontier	Shackelford County agenda 1 · Shackelford County agenda 2 · Shackelford County agenda 3 · Shackelford County agenda 4 · KTXS · Albany News 1 · Albany News 2

Recorded benefits and concerns (Vantage "Frontier" mega-campus):

Benefits: Proposed terms: $10M/yr payments in lieu of property taxes for 10 years; $150,000/yr to local charities for 10 years; up to 10 scholarships/yr (Albany News). KTAB/KRBC: company "will pay 10 million for the first 10 years and pay the tax rate for the following seven years" (agreement itself not seen)

Recorded benefits and concerns (Project North (Buck Nail Ranch)):

Benefits: Bolt says the project would generate its own power (KTXS)
Concerns: Traffic and safety, rent and utility costs (residents, KTXS); water, roads, emergency services and power generation questions at town hall (Albany News)

Sources for each project are linked in the table. Figures labeled "company" come from the developer.

Record timeline

Date	Type	What happened	Source
Sep 28, 2026	Commissioners court	Agenda: executive session on Citizens Advisory Committee for developing an abatement agreement with Bolt North Holdco, LLC.	Shackelford County agenda
Sep 22, 2026	TCEQ permit	Public Citizen: TCEQ mailed a preliminary-decision notice Sep 22 for VoltaGrid's ABI-1 plant; newspaper notice receipt logged Sep 28; no comment deadline set.	Public Citizen
Aug 13, 2026	News	KTXS: town hall on Bolt Data and Energy's Project North, Buck Nail Ranch 16 miles west of Albany; not yet approved.	KTXS
Aug 10, 2026	Commissioners court	Agenda: court to consider Merit Advisors' tax abatement application for proposed data center on Buck Nail Ranch; action delayed (Albany News).	Shackelford County agenda
Jun 29, 2026	Building registration (TDLR)	TDLR TABS: Vantage 'TX3 – Project Frontier' building TX304, 453,385 sq ft, est. $1.315B; one of buildings TX301–TX311 registered Jun 29–30.	TDLR TABS
Dec 12, 2025	TCEQ permit	VoltaGrid submitted TCEQ air application 182467 for the ABI-1 Electric Generating Facility at 299 FM 604, serving the nearby data center campus.	TCEQ
Jul 24, 2025	Tax abatement	Albany News: county creates Reinvestment Zone 2025-1, accepts Vantage abatement application; agreement to be signed after land purchase.	Albany News

What's next

These dates come from the tracker. Texas Data Center Watch has no recorded upcoming Shackelford County hearings or votes on data centers.

Statewide permit pause: Under the Governor's Sept. 21 order halting permits sought by data centers (Governor's office), TCEQ sent its Oct. 19 compliance letter: it says permits for infrastructure directly supporting data centers are paused, pending applications are being screened, and claimed authorizations are suspended where possible (TCEQ letter). The Texas Tribune reported Oct. 20 that TCEQ says stormwater permits flagged by Public Citizen were suspended (Texas Tribune). On Oct. 21 TCEQ posted that its STEERS e-filing system for automatic authorizations is temporarily shut down so staff can check whether applications relate to data centers (TCEQ STEERS notice); the Texas Tribune reports a spokesman said applications must be physically provided (Texas Tribune, Oct. 21). The tracker doesn't show whether any project in Shackelford County has a pending TCEQ permit.

Frequently asked questions

What data center projects are tracked in Shackelford County, Texas? Two: Vantage "Frontier" mega-campus in Albany area, listed as under construction; Project North (Buck Nail Ranch) in Buck Nail Ranch, about 16 miles west of Albany (KTXS), listed as proposed (abatement application under review).

How many data center projects are tracked in Shackelford County? Two: Vantage Frontier and Bolt Project North (Buck Nail Ranch).

Has Shackelford County approved the Bolt project? No. Commissioners have accepted the abatement application for review and formed a citizen advisory committee, but have not approved the project (KTXS; Albany News).

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