Austin-based Baryonyx Corporation was “not just blowing hot air” recently when it announced that its subsidiary, WindData, would construct a $210 million data center in Pflugerville, Texas, that would be fully powered by renewable energy. And wind power is a key component of the plan.

Formed in 2009, Baryonyx is a renewable energy company run by alumni of Eclipse Energy, a firm that developed and then sold the 150-megawatt (MW) Ormonde Offshore Wind Farm in the United Kingdom.

Last June, Baryonyx applied to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Galveston for permits to construct three wind farms off the Texas coast, between Brownsville and Corpus Christi. While the Army still is in the process of completing an environmental impact study, Baryonyx already has more than 67,000 acres of submerged lands under lease from the Texas General Land Office; and, if fully developed, these sites could have an installed capacity of up to 3 gigawatts (GW).

The company had compelling reasons for choosing Pflugerville as the site of the 600,000-square-foot, five-building data center. The bedroom community just outside Austin—perhaps best known to date as a filming location for the TV show, “Friday Night Lights” —is restyling itself as the Research Triangle Park of the Southwest.

A 167-acre triangular-shaped piece of land off the Texas 130 toll road is set to become the city’s economic hub, thanks to the vision of the Pflugerville Community Development Corporation (PCDC), which purchased the property in 2008. Officials are envisioning a mixed-use industrial park, complete with proper incentives to lure green technology companies to Pflugerville. The incubator would house about 22 companies and provide entrepreneurs — who would pay rent and a fee to participate —with office space and mentors to help develop their companies over several years.

According to Data Center Knowledge, under the agreement between Baryonyx and the PCDC, WindData will invest $70 million in the first three years of the TX-1 data center project, as well as another $140 million within 10 years. The project will generate at least 30 new jobs paying $67,500 a year within the first three years; then, an additional 100 jobs within 10 years.

“With our focus on the renewable energy industry, it is very appropriate that Pflugerville’s first data center will be powered by 100 percent green energy,” PCDC Executive Director Floyd Akers said in a statement. “In addition to a large number of high-paying jobs, we will also have a dramatic amount of construction at this Pflugerville location during the next 10 years.”

On days when the weather is becalmed, WindData will have a neighbor in Pflugerville that can supply solar energy. RRE Austin Solar was formed in 2010 as a Texas Limited Liability Company for the purpose of developing up to 60 MW of energy in Travis County—and Pflugerville, in particular. The objective of the company is not only to provide clean renewable energy through solar PV systems, but also to become a "change agent" — an ambassador for clean energy throughout the cities and counties in which it develops solar farm projects. RRE Austin Solar plans to employ local labor, expertise, and vendors whenever possible, after it opens in 2014.

Construction on the WindData facility is expected to begin this year.