Proposed Pflugerville WindData data center on hold

In November, the Pflugerville Community Development Corp. announced an agreement with WindData--a high-tech, renewable energy data corporation–to build “the first 100 percent renewable energy-powered data center in the U.S.” at the intersection of New Meister and Schultz lanes near Toll 45 in Pflugerville. Plans called for construction of a five-building, 600,000-square-foot campus that would bring at least 130 new high-paying jobs into the city during the next decade.

The entire project, however, is now under threat.

“There is a lot of work going on behind the scenes right now on sites and signings,” said D. Roy Phillips, chief operating officer of Baryonyx Corporation, the Austin-based parent company of WindData. “We are looking at a number of sites in the North Austin area.”

As part of the deal, the PCDC agreed to pay WindData $3,000 per new job past the first 30 hirings. WindData was also set to receive $150,000 annually from the PCDC for 10 years and a three-year, 70 percent tax rebate from the city. Prior to the City Council passing the agreement, Phillips told council members that ground breaking was expected to begin during “the second quarter of [2012].”

The PCDC is also unsure as to the project’s future.

“I don’t know how the WindData project is going,” PCDC Executive Director Floyd Akers said. “I know [WindData] are doing financing, and that is a difficult process right now.”

According to Phillips, WindData would like to have a final site chosen–in Pflugerville or elsewhere–by the end of summer and be operational by next year.

“Coming to a closure on land always has its challenges,” Phillips said. “We just want to be absolutely sure we end up with the right location. It’s a major investment when the time comes.”