East Texas Legacy Coalition

Seven big projects are lined up for Angelina County.

Two data centers, two gas power plants, a solar farm and two battery sites. Here is what each one is, how big it is, and what we know about its water. Every fact has its source underneath.

How big, side by side

Each block below is drawn to scale by its size in megawatts. HyperDataGrid isn’t on it because no size for it is on public record yet.

Amp Z alone is bigger than the other five on this line put together.

One thing to know: the data center’s number is how much power it plans to use. The other five are how much power they would make or store. A megawatt is a megawatt either way, which is why we put them on one line.

What “in the grid queue” means

ERCOT runs the Texas power grid. Any project that wants to plug in has to get in line first, and ERCOT publishes that line every month. Being in line doesn’t mean a project will get built. It means a company has paid to study plugging in here, and it’s the earliest public sign that something is coming.

Source: ERCOT Generation Interconnection Status report, data as of Oct. 22, 2026.

Each project, in plain words

Amp Z data center

AI data center, 2,100 MW planned
Where
The old Southland paper mill on Highway 103 East near Herty, just outside Lufkin. About 1,041 acres under option.
Power
The landowner, Verdant Industries, holds a January 2025 state air permit for 12 natural gas turbines on the site.
Water
The public was told about 500 gallons a day. The company’s county tax application lists its water needs as “TBD.” It has filed no well permits with the groundwater district, and the City of Lufkin owns the old mill’s wells. What happened to our water the last time this site pumped.
Taxes
Angelina County turned down its request for a 10-year tax break.
Who decides
If Amp Z buys City water, we expect that deal to go to the Lufkin City Council. [Our reading of how City water contracts work; not yet confirmed.]
Sources: Lufkin Daily News (acreage); Lufkin Daily News (turbines); City of Lufkin Data Center FAQ (500 gallons); Angelina County records produced to ETLC (tax application); Pineywoods GCD email to ETLC, Sept. 22, 2026 (no well permits); Lufkin Daily News (tax break rejected); Powered Land.

HyperDataGrid data center

Data center, size not on record
Where
The old Northern Chip Mill on Ben Dunn Road, off Highway 103 West.
Water
The developer told the groundwater district it would use about 500 gallons a day, then asked for 13 million gallons a year from the wells on the property. That’s just under the 15 million that would require a public hearing. As of Sept. 29, 2026, the district had taken no action.
Who decides
The Pineywoods district. Under 15 million gallons a year, the request doesn’t need a board meeting or public hearing, the district’s general manager wrote to the developer.
Source: Pineywoods GCD emails to ETLC, Aug.–Sept. 2026; Powered Land.

Longleaf Power Station

Natural gas power plant, 600 MW
Who
Long Leaf Generating LLC, part of WattBridge.
Where
North of Lufkin near Kurth Lake, connecting at the Redland substation.
Water
Approved for 80 million gallons a year and never drilled. In March 2026 it switched to running around the clock and asked for 1.5 billion gallons a year, about 4.1 million gallons a day. That request has been on hold since July 2026 at the company’s request.
Taxes
The County approved a 10-year tax break in May 2025, on the condition that it run as a “peaking” plant, only when demand is high.
A plant that runs around the clock isn’t a peaking plant. That change may break the terms of its tax break. [Our reading of the records; the County hasn’t said.] Sources: ERCOT queue, project 26INR0294; Pineywoods GCD email to ETLC, Sept. 22, 2026; Lufkin Daily News (tax break).

Longleaf II Power Station

Natural gas power plant, 600 MW
Who
WattBridge Texas Holdings, the same company behind Longleaf.
When
Projected to come online July 2030.
Water
We have no water records for this one yet.

This is a separate request from the first Longleaf, with its own ERCOT number. Together the two would be 1,200 MW of gas power from one company. Source: ERCOT queue, project 30INR0114.

Sun Angel ESS

Battery storage, 202 MW
What
A battery site that soaks up power from the grid and sends it back later. “ESS” stands for energy storage system.
When
Projected to come online September 2028.
Where
ERCOT lists it only as Angelina County.
Source: ERCOT queue, project 27INR0247.

Azalea Springs Solar

Solar farm, 181 MW
When
Projected to come online Nov. 1, 2026, the soonest of these projects.
Where
ERCOT lists it only as Angelina County.
Source: ERCOT queue, project 19INR0110. ERCOT’s projected dates often slip.

Solar Star North Herty Storage

Battery storage, 126 MW
When
Projected to come online August 2027.
Where
The name points to the Herty area. ERCOT lists it only as Angelina County.
Source: ERCOT queue, project 24INR0174.

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