Data Center Registry
Cipher McLennan HPC Data Center
Waco, McLennan County, Texas · All 10 Cipher Digital sites
Cipher McLennan HPC Data Center is a proposed data center in Waco, Texas (McLennan County), operated by Cipher Digital. The public record puts it at announced October 2024, 500 MW planned, 300 acres. It is the subject of active public debate, with hearings, petitions, or organized opposition on record.
Every line on this page traces to a public source listed at the bottom. Where a figure was looked for and not found, the row says so. A blank is never a zero.
Facility record
Proposed
- Operator
- Cipher Digital
- Facility type
- Data center
- Location
- Waco, McLennan County, TX
- Coordinates
- 31.4741, -96.9626 (approximate)
- Power capacity
- 500 MW planned
- Land
- 300 acres
- Investment
- Not established from a public source
- Announced
- October 2024
- Utility
- Not established from a public source
- Cooling
- Not established from a public source
- Water use
- Not established from a public source
- Jobs
- Not established from a public source
- Public subsidy
- Not established from a public source
- Community reception
- Contested
- Source confidence
- Reported by at least one credible outlet or filing
Timeline from the record
Newest first. Record entries come from the filings and reports the registry cites. Coverage entries are headlines from publisher feeds we monitor daily, linked to the outlet; last checked September 14, 2026.
- July 17, 2026ProposedStatus change recorded. Source: U.S. SEC (EDGAR)
Opposition and litigation at this site
Yes. Cipher McLennan HPC Data Center in Waco, McLennan County, Texas is contested. Hearings, public comment, petitions, or organized opposition are on record. Riesel residents formed a 'Stop the Riesel Data Center' opposition page and the City Council and a McLennan County commissioner publicly criticized the project's lack of transparency (May 2026); no vote, denial, or lawsuit yet.
How the community has taken it
Reception is a sourced signal, not an editorial judgment: contested means active public debate is on record, with hearings, petitions, or organized opposition, without litigation.
Riesel residents formed a 'Stop the Riesel Data Center' opposition page and the City Council and a McLennan County commissioner publicly criticized the project's lack of transparency (May 2026); no vote, denial, or lawsuit yet.
Notes on the record
Cipher's McLennan HPC/AI data center site in central Texas (McLennan County, the Waco area). Targeted capacity up to 500 MW; estimated energization 2028. Cipher entered an option agreement in October 2024 and exercised the option to acquire the special-purpose entity in February 2026. Part of Cipher's ~3.4 GW / 8-site HPC pipeline (Cipher Digital, formerly Cipher Mining). Coordinates approximate (McLennan County / Waco geocode; specific parcel not disclosed). Cipher Mining was renamed Cipher Digital.
What the record does not establish, and the document that would
In every fight on our tracker the decisive fact came out of a public records request. These are the requests for this site.
- Cooling method and water use
- Tax abatements or other public subsidy
- Permanent jobs promised
- Which utility serves it
Which document closes each gap
- Cooling method and water use
- The water service agreement, any groundwater appropriation permit, and the mechanical narrative in the site plan.
- Tax abatements or other public subsidy
- The abatement, PILOT, or development agreement approved by the county, city, or development authority, and the state's data center sales tax exemption certificate if one was issued.
- Permanent jobs promised
- The economic development application or incentive agreement, which usually states a job commitment and a clawback.
- Which utility serves it
- The electric service agreement or the utility's filing with the state public utility commission.
Have one of these documents? Send it to us and we will add it to the record with attribution.
Other sites within 30 miles
Distances are between recorded coordinates, many of which are a city or county centroid, so treat them as approximate. Cumulative load on one utility and one aquifer is the question a planning commission rarely asks.
- Project Merlin (Helios II) · McGregor · Galaxy Digital26 mi · Proposed · 3.5 GW · Contested
- Nexus Hubbard Data Center & Power Campus · Hubbard · Nexus Data Centers27 mi · Under construction · 612 MW · Contested
Questions people ask about this site
Is there opposition to the Cipher McLennan HPC Data Center in Waco?
Yes. Cipher McLennan HPC Data Center in Waco, McLennan County, Texas is contested. Hearings, public comment, petitions, or organized opposition are on record. Riesel residents formed a 'Stop the Riesel Data Center' opposition page and the City Council and a McLennan County commissioner publicly criticized the project's lack of transparency (May 2026); no vote, denial, or lawsuit yet.
Has anyone filed a lawsuit over the Cipher McLennan HPC Data Center?
The reception note on this record refers to a court proceeding. Read it in full under opposition and litigation above, and check the sources at the foot of the page for the filing itself.
How much water does Cipher McLennan HPC Data Center use?
No water withdrawal figure for Cipher McLennan HPC Data Center is on record here. Water use is rarely published voluntarily; it usually surfaces through a utility service agreement or a state withdrawal permit, both of which are public records. We leave the number blank rather than estimate one.
Who operates Cipher McLennan HPC Data Center, and how big is it?
Cipher Digital is the operator on record. We hold 10 sites for that company across the registry. Capacity on record is 500 MW. The site is recorded at 300 acres.
How to cite this page
SueDataCenters.org Data Center Registry, "Cipher McLennan HPC Data Center," updated August 16, 2026, https://suedatacenters.org/data-centers/cipher-mclennan-county-tx.
Facility data from Compute Atlas (E. Kubiak), version 1.32.0 (September 7, 2026), licensed CC BY 4.0, record https://www.compute-atlas.com/facilities/cipher-mclennan-county-tx, retrieved September 14, 2026.
Corrections with a public source are welcome at the Compute Atlas record or through our contact page. The whole registry is available as CSV and JSON under CC BY 4.0.
Sources for this record
As compiled and cited by Compute Atlas, with our own reporting appended. Archived links are used where the original has moved.
- 1.Cipher Digital (Cipher Mining) FY2025 Form 10-K, McLennan Site, central Texas, targeted capacity up to 500 MW, energize 2028; option exercised Feb 2026 · U.S. SEC (EDGAR) · retrieved July 17, 2026
- 2.Waco Bridge, 'Second Waco-area data center proposal troubles residents' (citing McLennan County clerk records) · retrieved July 25, 2026
- 3.Cipher Mining, Announces Signing of Option Agreements to Acquire 1.5 GW of Data Center Sites in West and North Texas (GlobeNewswire, Oct 15, 2024) · retrieved July 25, 2026
- 4.Waco Bridge, 'Second Waco-area data center proposal troubles residents' (citing McLennan County clerk records) · retrieved August 16, 2026
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