• Circle T would comprise four 300,000-square-foot buildings on 87.96 acres, but only the first building is allowed by right
  • PowerHouse has paid Oncor for a 350MW substation, while buildings two through four still require specific-use permits

The fact

Kimley-Horn has filed plans on behalf of PowerHouse Data Centers for the Circle T campus in Westlake, north of Fort Worth. The proposed development would cover 87.96 acres and include four data-centre buildings, each measuring about 300,000 square feet. Together, the campus is planned for up to 300MW of capacity.

Westlake’s Planning and Zoning Commission approved the proposals on 4 August, following a recommendation from the town’s planning department. The first data centre is allowed under the site’s existing zoning, but each of the three later buildings will require a separate specific-use permit.

PowerHouse has also paid Oncor to bring a 350MW substation to Westlake, according to the town. The substation is intended to support the data-centre campus as well as a municipal pump station. PowerHouse, a division of American Real Estate Partners, also outlined 11 active and planned projects across Texas with a combined potential capacity of 10GW. That figure includes projects still in development and should not be read as operating capacity.

The assessment

Circle T can move forward in stages rather than as a single 300MW development. The first building is allowed under the existing zoning, while each of the other three will need a separate specific-use permit. That gives PowerHouse a route to start the project without securing approval for the entire campus at once.

The planned 350MW Oncor substation sits alongside that phased development model. PowerHouse has committed money to the electrical infrastructure needed for a large site, but the substation does not remove the permitting requirements for later buildings or confirm when power will be available to them.

For BTW readers, the 300MW figure should therefore be read as the planned scale of Circle T, not capacity that is already approved for construction. The first building can establish the project, while later permit applications and power milestones will determine how much of the wider campus progresses.

What to watch

The first building permit and Oncor’s substation schedule are the nearest milestones. Specific-use permit applications for buildings two through four would show the wider campus moving beyond the by-right first phase. A construction start, named tenant or firm energisation date would provide firmer evidence of how quickly the 300MW master plan is converting into deliverable capacity.