The Flip Side of the Tech Boom: BESS, Data Centers & What It Means for Real-Estate

In Texas, we’re witnessing an explosion of large-scale energy-storage and data-center infrastructure. These projects promise jobs, grid flexibility, and economic development — but they also carry important environmental, safety and land-use considerations that savvy real-estate agents should know.

Potential – and Its Cost

On the “pro” side, battery storage systems and data centers support our digital economy, help balance electrical grids, and enable more renewables (at least in theory). Proponents point to benefits like being able to dispatch stored energy when it’s needed, reduce blackouts, and facilitate growth of cloud/data-services in the state.

The Downsides Realistically Matter

Here are some of the big concerns:

• Fire risk & chemical hazards. Large BESS installations can undergo “thermal runaway” and burn intensely. For example, the massive fire at the Moss Landing Power Plant lithium-ion battery facility in California led to evacuation of ~1,200 + residents. (CTIF) Post-incident soil testing found nickel, manganese, cobalt concentrations hundreds-to-thousands of times higher in the nearby marsh soil. (Los Angeles Times)

• Water usage, cooling load & energy intensity. Data centers and BESS sites require massive cooling, continuous power draw, and large land footprints. In Texas, a recent academic study estimated that a 10 MW data center can generate ~37,668 metric tons of CO₂ annually just from its operations — and many more when you consider embodied emissions. (arXiv)

• Land, footprint & toxins. These facilities often sit on hundreds to thousands of acres (especially when you include buffer zones, access roads, cooling infrastructure). When accidents happen, the land and water can become contaminated with heavy-metals or persistent chemicals, and the cleanup may be complex or incomplete. The Moss Landing example shows nearby ecologically sensitive land potentially affected. (Los Angeles Times)

• Grid destabilization risk. Some argue that relying heavily on “green” solutions like solar + wind + big battery farms may introduce new kinds of risk: oversupply, rapid discharge demands, fire risk, infrastructure stress – which in turn may impact how communities and neighbors perceive value and safety of surrounding real-estate.

• Foreign software / supply-chain / oversight issues. As the scale of these installations grows, so does complexity: proprietary software, overseas components, regulatory gaps may introduce additional risk vectors (cyber, failure, delay) which can impact property values indirectly (through perception, insurance, etc.).

• Long-tail contamination & permanence. Even if immediate health risks are “low” according to some industry studies, the persistence of heavy-metals and chemical residues means land could face long-term remediation burdens or stigma. For example, the soil findings near Moss Landing are prompting questions about groundwater, bio‐accumulation, and whether the land will ever fully recover. (Los Angeles Times)

So What Should Texas Agents Be Watching?

• There are reports that over 900 such facilities are proposed or planned across Texas — potentially in all 254 counties. (Check local permits in your county.)

• As an agent, being aware of which parcels are encumbered, adjacent to, or near a data center or BESS facility is a competitive advantage. Agents who understand how these uses might impact future zoning, neighbors’ perceptions, resale value, insurance, environmental disclosures will stand apart.

• Write disclosures, understand setbacks, noise/cooling infrastructure, water usage demands, safety & hazard maps. The more you know, the more confidence you can give your buyer or seller, or the more you can turn this into a selling point of being informed.

While officials promise benefits of data centers and large-scale battery farms, the risks are non-trivial — especially for land, neighborhoods and real-estate values. Being alert doesn’t mean alarmist; it means informed. If you know where these large footprints are going, and how they could affect future development or neighborhood character, you’ll be better placed to advise clients, anticipate challenges, and highlight value.

In the end: for Texas agents, this isn’t just an energy story — it’s a real-estate story. The more you understand the infrastructure around you, the better you serve your clients.