Midlothian / Red Oak

Google · Meta · Ellis County developers · Midlothian, Texas

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The resource footprint

Modelled average

In one day, this campus consumes about

2.1750-metre swimming pools

Filled with the volume of water consumed by the campus and its electricity supply.

The actual estimate1,432,820 US gallons consumed

50-metre pools · 2 metres deep

Each diagram = 1 pool. Partial shading shows the remainder.

At the campus410,236 galMaking its electricity1,022,584 gal

Power-plant water may come from a different watershed. This is a volume comparison, not a claim that households lose this water.

At current operating capacity · Annual model spread evenly over time, not a live meter. Site estimates may differ by roughly ±40%.

Comparison sizes & sources

One pool = 50 × 25 × 2 metres = 2.5 million litres (about 660,430 US gallons). Pool depths vary; this is a defined comparison size.

One home-year = 10,791 kWh, the EIA’s 2022 average US residential electricity purchases. This excludes electricity generated at home and is a fixed US benchmark for all sites.

One car-year = 4.6 tonnes CO₂, the EPA’s typical passenger vehicle tailpipe estimate. The campus model is in CO₂e; the comparison expresses approximate climate scale, not equal mixtures of pollutants.

Monthly values are annual totals ÷ 12; daily values are annual totals ÷ 365. Actual demand varies. Comparisons cover the whole campus, including non-AI uses.

Water: see the numbers and sources

This is water used up, mainly through evaporation. Power-generation water may be used in a different watershed.

Total water use523M gal/yr

Evaporated on site150M gal

Making the power373M gal

Household comparison6,537homes, at 80,000 gal/year

Pressure on local water: High — a regional measure of demand compared with available water
Where the water comes from: Reclaimed / recycled water
Cooling: Mixed; reclaimed water where available
Basis: Modelled from cooling design — WUE 0.34 L/kWh
Claimed vs observed: Google Midlothian consumed 220.2 million gallons in 2025. Meta's Ellis County figure is not in Google's table; this cluster row remains modelled.

Air: see the numbers and sources

The totals include nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide and fine particles. They cover both this site and the power plants supplying it.

Nitrogen oxides233t/yr

Sulphur dioxide266t/yr

Fine particulates36.6t PM2.5

Health (EPA)$32.3M/yr

Health range: $11.1–32.3 million a year. Lower bound is EASIUR national mid-range; upper is EPA benefit-per-ton at a ~$12M VSL.
Statistical deaths: 2.69 a year at that VSL — a national-average conversion from tons, not a local concentration study.
Equals: 290,887 cars of NOx
Where it burns: ERCOT — Texas
Generation mix: Gas 40 · Wind 24 · Solar 11 · Coal 13 · Nuclear 9
Diesel backup: Diesel backup is not yet counted for this campus, so on-site air figures are a floor.
CO₂e: 585 kt/yr — climate, not air quality

The project, approvals and community concerns

Who asked for it: Google and Meta, each with separate campuses in Ellis County
Who approved it: Ellis County and City of Midlothian abatements; ERCOT interconnection; Texas SB6 curtailment rules now apply to loads over 75 MW
What it serves: Google Cloud us-south1 and Meta app serving
IT capacity: 300 MW current capacity / 900 MW full-build scenario

Texas SB6, passed in 2025, is the first US law letting a grid operator order data centers to disconnect during emergencies — a direct response to the winter-storm risk that ERCOT loads now represent.

water-stressed basin

Keep this guide handy

32.4820°, -96.9942°

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Quote or share these estimates

Gigawatt Ledger (2026). Midlothian / Red Oak: water and air. https://gigawatt-ledger.pages.dev/site/midlothian/. Modelled from disclosed capacity; site-level error ±40%.

Include the estimate’s date, whether it describes current or proposed capacity, and its uncertainty. Get an embeddable card.

Gigawatt Ledger · September 2026. Water and air figures are estimated from public records and disclosed capacity. How we calculate them · Use this in your community.