WILLACY COUNTY, Texas - A new company is building a “green data center” that will provide unique types of services to the growing Willacy County windfarm industry.
Albany, New York-based Soluna, has started building a $50 million facility, called Project Kati, along FM 1420 on the east side of the county where a couple of renewable energy companies are generating electricity for homes in Central Texas.
The green data center is expected to deliver 166 megawatts of clean computing for AI and Bitcoin
The project, named after scientist Katalin Rariko, is the largest Soluna facility to date and the second one in Texas.
Company representatives, county officials and employees with La Majadas Wind Farm met at the site on Thursday, Sept. 18, to announce the project construction that is expected to be up and running by the middle of 2026.
John Belizaire, Soluna’s chief executive officer, said they chose Willacy County because of its wide open areas, its constant winds and windfarms in operation.
However, the wind almost came to a complete stop during the event’s day, making it hot and very humid.
“Breaking ground on our biggest project yet expands our Texas footprint, strengthens partnerships with leading renewable developers, and proves our colocation model of pairing high-performance computing with clean energy at utility scale,” he said. “Project Kati showcases our ability to deliver large-scale facilities with world-class investors and positions Soluna for long-term growth across Bitcoin hosting and AI infrastructure.”
Soluna executives said the green data center will create about 20 permanent jobs and close to 80 during the construction phases of the project.
Project Kati with 166 megawatts of clean computing capacity has two phases. The first one calls for having a center that will deliver 83 megawatts.
Belizaire said they look for wind farms with certain problems such as those with idle windmills.
Some sit without their blades rotating and a reason behind that is there aren’t enough customers.
And that is where Soluna comes in.
Their green data centers are built for intensive computing applications, including AI and Bitcoin mining.
Jim Reynolds, vice president of operations with Soluna, said the company has a third green data center in Kentucky.
County Judge Aurelio “Keter” Guerra said he welcomes a company like Soluna.
“This is great for our county,” he said. “Anything that increases our tax base creates positive results for us.”
