Data Center Registry
Project Merlin (Helios II)
McGregor, McLennan County, Texas · All 3 Galaxy Digital sites
Project Merlin (Helios II) is a proposed data center in McGregor, Texas (McLennan County), operated by Galaxy Digital. The public record puts it at announced June 25, 2026, 3.5 GW planned, a reported $400 million investment. 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
- Galaxy Digital
- Facility type
- Data center
- Location
- McGregor, McLennan County, TX
- Coordinates
- 31.4400, -97.4000 (approximate)
- Power capacity
- 3.5 GW planned
- Land
- Not established from a public source
- Investment
- $400 million
- Announced
- June 25, 2026
- 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
- Confirmed by multiple independent sources or official documentation
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.
- June 25, 2026ProposedMcGregor City Council approved the project. Source: The Energy Mag
Opposition and litigation at this site
Yes. Project Merlin (Helios II) in McGregor, McLennan County, Texas is contested. Hearings, public comment, petitions, or organized opposition are on record, and no lawsuit has been filed so far. Residents launched a recall petition against McGregor's mayor over the closed-session approval of the ~500-acre Galaxy Digital land sale and aquifer/water-supply concerns; enough signatures were collected by mid-July 2026 to advance the recall to the next phase.
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.
Residents launched a recall petition against McGregor's mayor over the closed-session approval of the ~500-acre Galaxy Digital land sale and aquifer/water-supply concerns; enough signatures were collected by mid-July 2026 to advance the recall to the next phase.
Notes on the record
~500MW initial phase, up to 3,500MW long-term. 500 acres NE of the SpaceX facility. Second Galaxy Digital Texas site, distinct from the tracked Afton/Dickens County Helios campus.
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
- Land area
- 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.
- Land area
- The rezoning application, the plat, or the deed recorded with the county.
- 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.
- Meta Temple Data Center · Temple · Meta21 mi · Operating · 152 MW
- Rowan Project Temple · Temple · Rowan Digital Infrastructure24 mi · Under construction · 300 MW · Mixed reception
- Cipher McLennan HPC Data Center · Waco · Cipher Digital26 mi · Proposed · 500 MW · Contested
Questions people ask about this site
Is there opposition to the Project Merlin (Helios II) data center in McGregor?
Yes. Project Merlin (Helios II) in McGregor, McLennan County, Texas is contested. Hearings, public comment, petitions, or organized opposition are on record, and no lawsuit has been filed so far. Residents launched a recall petition against McGregor's mayor over the closed-session approval of the ~500-acre Galaxy Digital land sale and aquifer/water-supply concerns; enough signatures were collected by mid-July 2026 to advance the recall to the next phase.
Has anyone filed a lawsuit over the Project Merlin (Helios II) data center?
No lawsuit over Project Merlin (Helios II) appears in the record we track as of July 26, 2026. Residents most often reach a lawyer over water supply, well drawdown, noise from cooling plant, property value, or a rezoning approved without the notice the ordinance required. If any of that is happening near this site, it is worth a review whether or not a case has been filed yet.
How much water does Project Merlin (Helios II) use?
No water withdrawal figure for Project Merlin (Helios II) 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 Project Merlin (Helios II), and how big is it?
Galaxy Digital is the operator on record. We hold 3 sites for that company across the registry. Capacity on record is 3.5 GW.
How to cite this page
SueDataCenters.org Data Center Registry, "Project Merlin (Helios II)," updated July 26, 2026, https://suedatacenters.org/data-centers/galaxy-digital-mcgregor-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/galaxy-digital-mcgregor-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.Galaxy Digital AI data center announced in McGregor, Texas · The Energy Mag · retrieved July 17, 2026
- 2.Galaxy Digital eyes second Texas data center site, buys land outside Waco · Data Center Dynamics · retrieved July 17, 2026
- 3.KXXV, McGregor residents submit petition to recall mayor over data center water concerns · retrieved July 26, 2026
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