Locals weigh in: How Stargate benefits Abilene and Taylor County

ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – Since the announcement that Abilene would be the start of a new presidential project, Stargate, residents have expressed their questions and excitement. While the half-trillion-dollar invested project is expected to create more jobs and allow for America to be a trailblazer in tech, ‘What does this mean for Abilene and Taylor County?’

At Dixie Pig Diner, the talk of the headlines from the night before cannot be missed, and employee Joe Hatcher says Wednesday morning was no different.

“Everybody’s talking about the election, and everybody’s talking about all the things that the president’s doing,” Hatcher said. “[Trump administration] mentioned the name Abilene, and everybody caught that, so people have been talking about the fact that some people didn’t even know that that facility was being built in the area.”

The Lancium campus, which broke ground on Old Anson Road in 2022, will be the focus of Stargate’s start as a 200-megawatt data center. Taylor County Judge Phil Crowley said that with the new nationwide attention, he expects to see the project ramp up.

“It started as a smaller project in 2021, 22, and then it has grown progressively. I think everyone was shocked in a good way to see President Trump mention that,” Crowley said. “That secret’s getting out. That Abilene is one of the best places in the world to live, work, or raise a family. But now the secrets are outright with just the economic miracle that’s taking place here.”

While the details of Abilene’s role in Stargate continue to get ironed out, the Mayor of Abilene, Weldon Hurt, said that one thing business owners can expect to see is a growth in customers and residents is growth in the economy.

“It’s a huge construction project. So initially, you’ll see all kinds of people, you know, needing hotel-related rentals and buying homes, not just for the construction aspect of this when you’re talking about multiple billions of dollars in construction. You know, it brings a lot to that part of our economy, our restaurants, everything,” Hurt said.

Over the years, as the deal with Lancium developed, Hurt said it was a team effort and thought that no matter what, this puts Abilene on the national radar.

“It does put Abilene on the national map. Our DCOA has done a tremendous job. We’ve had great county relations in bringing this. And we’ve all worked together. So it’s a win for Abilene, but it’s a win for this whole region,” Hurt said.

Construction on Lancium’s building will continue over the next few years, but the company said in October that the first computational workloads could begin in early 2025.