Dallas-based Skybox Datacenters broke ground on a new facility in Lancaster Tuesday morning, adding to the growing number of data centers built in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
When the first phase of Skybox’s Lancaster project opens in 2026, it will help with demand for data centers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Data centers house computing machines and related equipment that are often the backbone of technology-reliant services like streaming or social media.
At completion, the facility is estimated to use 300 megawatts of power, said Haynes Strader, the chief development officer for Skybox. The first phase of the project, which sits adjacent to an Oncor Electric delivery site, will use 150 megawatts of power.
Skybox tries to find “points of interconnection,” Strader said, to ensure a reliable power supply. Points of interconnection are “where Oncor provides service to a customer,” an Oncor spokesperson wrote in an email response. Oncor is one of the state’s largest energy delivery companies.
“Compass [Datacenters] is taking advantage of this and is along a similar corridor, and we’re the second development in the region to look at this and expand,” Strader said. “It’s allowing us to get 150, eventually 300 megawatts of power relatively quickly compared to other parts of the area.”
Dallas-based Compass Datacenters has been active in the vicinity as well. Compass, in partnership with French multinational firm Schneider Electric, on Thursday opened up a facility in nearby Red Oak that will manufacture infrastructure for data centers.
At Thursday’s ribbon-cutting event for the Compass-Schneider project, Compass CEO Chris Crosby said Compass has also worked closely with Oncor.
“We’ve got a lot of infrastructure and what you’re seeing is some of that network effect,” he said. “And you’re seeing this has now become an area that is a new hub for data centers because of initial investments that have been done — power, fiber, water, light for this community.”
Data centers have faced scrutiny as the industry has taken off because of the amount of energy and utility required to power the facilities. Oncor has been experiencing “record growth across its service territory” from a customer base that includes industrial and commercial consumers, the Oncor spokesperson wrote.
Oncor works to review customer needs and incorporate those into long-term infrastructure planning, the spokesperson added.
“We also work directly with customers to review their specific potential electric delivery needs and ensure our facilities are prepared to deliver safe and reliable service,” the spokesperson wrote.
In Lancaster, Strader said that Skybox facilities typically employ 20 to 30 Skybox-specific employees and, based on the tenant, anywhere from 50 to 150 employees total. Lancaster Mayor Clyde Hairston said the facility will help “spur economic growth” in the city, which sits south of Dallas.
“We had open arms,” he said.
In Ellis County, which touches Lancaster, Judge Todd Little commented similarly at the Compass-Schneider project ribbon cutting, citing that Red Oak has plenty of land for those interested in coming to the community.
Denver-based STACK Infrastructure will also fill more than 100 acres in Lancaster with a new data center expected to open in 2026, too.
Skybox did not receive any economic development incentives, according to Lancaster’s economic development group.
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Correction: This article was updated to reflect that STACK infrastructure will fill more than 100 acres in Lancaster, not more than 1,000.
