Soros-Funded Group Opposes Texas Data Center Projects

Open Society Foundations has provided more than $7.6 million to the Indivisible Project since 2017, including a $3 million grant in 2023. The Dallas Express reported that Indivisible Centex, the local chapter in Bell County, has used the funding to oppose data center projects in Temple, Texas.

Indivisible Centex held a week of action in late April that included a protest and petition event at Temple City Hall on April 24. The group also organized a virtual event on April 27 titled "Thirsty for Power: When Data Centers Drain Our Water" and supported efforts to recall city council members who backed the projects.

Rowan broke ground earlier this year on Project Temple, a 300-megawatt hyperscale campus on roughly 700 acres with a minimum investment of $700 million. Meta has been building a separate large data center campus in Temple since 2022. The Temple City Council voted in April to annex and rezone about 700 acres for the Rowan project.

Residents raised concerns about water use, electricity demand, and infrastructure strain, leading a separate group called Stop the Temple Data Center to launch a recall effort against the mayor and two council members.

Energy Institute CEO Jason Isaac said the protests are being marketed as a local uprising. He stated that Indivisible is part of a broader network of groups that have received more than $39 million from foreign donors in Switzerland, Britain, and Denmark.

Isaac added that these groups are now pushing Congress to impose a national moratorium on data center construction. He noted that Texas leads the country in data center investment due to its abundant, affordable, and reliable power.