RAYMONDVILLE, Texas - Willacy County Judge Aurelio ‘Keter’ Guerra said he does not like to brag but felt he needed to at a recent Commercialization and Investment Roundtable hosted by the Rio Grande Valley Partnership.
Guerra said he had to brag about an upcoming project with Soluna, a company that converts excess wind, solar, and hydro energy into productive computational work, such as Bitcoin mining, artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Just the day before the roundtable, held at the Rural Technical Center in Raymondville, Guerra had participated in a groundbreaking ceremony with Soluna. The New York-based company is building a $50 million ‘green’ data center on FM 1420 on the east side of Willacy County. It is expected to deliver 166 megawatts of clean computing for AI and Bitcoin.
“So, I mentioned that I was going to brag. So, we had this groundbreaking with Soluna. They are going to build a data center. There are not too many of these types of data centers around. This is the second Soluna is building in Texas, and it's the fourth for them, the other two being in Kentucky and New York State,” Guerra explained.
“What it is, basically, is they capture the energy from the windmills that's not being utilized at the time, when the demand is low, and they disperse that, and they utilize it for the internet.”
Guerra continued:
“That's Phase One. Phase Two, which is just a year two from now, will be little different, because with that, they are going to feed artificial intelligence and other sources internationally. And so, we're excited about that, because I feel like Willacy County is at the forefront of technology.”
Guerra admitted he does not know much about AI.
“I don't know what artificial intelligence is, but I know it's out there. And I don't know how it's going to unfold. Some say that it's going to hit white collar jobs. That it is literally going to be taking their place. I don't know. That might be the downside. All I know is that we're being part of it as of yesterday.”
Guerra said that with the City of Raymondville expressing positive noises about electricity and water availability, including the ability to provide water to the City of Lyford in an emergency, good things are happening in Willacy County.
“There are a lot of things that are happening behind closed doors, but there are also a lot of things that are happening that we need to (tell the public about).”
Many of those in attendance were in the real estate and land development industries. Guerra said he wanted them to know his county is ready for development.
“We have had international investors come here. From Italy, from Germany. We need to do more of that. We need your help to make us sell ourselves. I think we have the edge. I sincerely believe that there are a lot of people that want away from the hustle and bustle. I'm not putting it down. It's just that that (is a good selling point for us),” Guerra said.
Guerra said another bragging right is that Willacy County’s unemployment rate has gone down, from double digits to 5.5 percent. “We're doing better than Cameron and Hidalgo (in that regard). Now, having said that, I'm not bragging.”
Guerra said he wants to start a dialogue with the real estate experts in the audience.
“I think we are now at a stage where we're competitive. I think that the county, in particular, is going to be looking for guidance as to where we can invest and get a return out of its investment quickly and rapidly,” he said.
“We are at that stage, and I want to send that message out to you guys that are out there in the trenches. It’s going to be you guys that have the know-how and the experience as to how we make that happen, because it's beneficial to all of us here to make the whole region (stronger). The whole region, working together.”
Guerra said he had just had a meeting with the mayor of Lyford. “They're also enthused and ready to entertain businesses and industry coming in. “Let’s look to see who it is we're partnering up with right now. Let's revisit those opportunities, and let's make something happen. This is the time that we need to make it happen.”
Guerra also floated the idea of a State of the County and Cities event, where Willacy City, Raymondville, Lyford and other municipalities can highlight their achievements. He said he would hope the entities that are going be sponsoring Hidalgo County’s State of the County would also sponsor Willacy’s. After all, he said, “we are joined at the hip.”
