RED OAK, Texas — A data center firm is taking a very different approach by integrating into the communities where they build the massive facilities needed to power Americans’ technology and support the growing artificial intelligence (AI) boom.
As these centers face flak over growing concerns about their impact on resources and infrastructure, Compass Datacenters CEO Chris Crosby tells Fox News Digital that it’s up to companies like his to work with communities, identify local needs, plan improvements and invest in projects that benefit residents.
And that’s what he aimed to do from the start when building out a hyperscale data center campus in a town of approximately 20,000 people just 20 miles south of Dallas. Crosby detailed how he was able to create a data center with “no noise, no light pollution” and a completely water-free cooling system.
“Do you need a fire truck? Do you need a new school? Do you need baseball fields for your community?” Crosby proposed in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital. “These are important capital investments that can really boost a community, and many communities should be asking for those things.”
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“When you think about durability and putting a hundred-year-type asset into a community, you better do that really well and in conjunction with that community,” he added.
In Red Oak, Compass donated $15 million to build an animal shelter after the SPCA ended its contract in the town last year, Crosby said.
His company also partnered with Texas State Technical College on a $12.6 million training facility to expand the school’s Mechanical, Electrical and IT Data Center Pathway program. The 12-week course is designed to help people enter skilled trades and technical careers that data centers rely on. The work includes electricians, mechanics and technicians, as well as construction trades such as carpentry, welding and concrete work.
Crosby said the program is open to people without prior qualifications and prepares them for careers across the industry.
“We can’t get enough people into this career,” he said. “Unfortunately, there was a war on blue-collar jobs a while back and everybody had to get a four-year degree. I’m so glad that’s over with.”
Compass — headquartered in America’s data center capital in Loudoun County, Virginia — began developing its Red Oak campus in 2019.
It now includes 10 data center buildings, a Schneider Electric manufacturing facility and the training center. Crosby said about 900 people work on site — roughly 600 for Compass and 300 for Schneider Electric — in addition to the thousands of construction workers who have worked on the project over the past five years.
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“I am tired of the elitism that this doesn’t create jobs,” Crosby said of his sprawling data center and the rhetoric that they do not bring lasting American jobs.
“You tell that to the 900 people who work here on this campus, and you tell that to the thousands of construction workers who have worked here for five years plus,” he added. The jobs and community investments are one side of a debate playing out across the country.
As data centers expand nationwide, their electricity and water use — and the strain they can place on local infrastructure — are drawing growing scrutiny.
But Crosby said Compass has not used water to cool its data centers since the company began operating, a choice he said is personal and practical.
“We haven’t used water since inception, because I grew up in North Texas. I know water is a precious resource,” he said.
At the Red Oak facility, water is used only for bathrooms, according to Compass. The company uses a hybrid cooling system that can operate with air or liquid cooling. Crosby said avoiding water cooling can reduce efficiency, but he considers the trade-off worthwhile.
Power is another concern as data centers add demand to the grid. Crosby said Compass favors connecting to the grid and believes data center companies can help pay for transmission and generation upgrades.
“We think that we can contribute to the infrastructure for the grid,” he said, adding that data center companies can “co-invest” in upgrades. He also said facilities could help reduce peak demand and grid congestion by adjusting when they draw power.
At Red Oak, Crosby said Compass donated seven parcels to the transmission provider to route power lines without using eminent domain. He said that also means controlling noise and light pollution and meeting EPA noise limits at the property line.
“It’s very important to be a quiet neighbor — no noise, no light pollution, and, of course, taking care of the precious resources that are there in that community,” he said.
