Business

Texas receives over $10 trillion in data center project requests as state permits massive private power campus

Mae De Vera, LAWIN.news04 views

The Texas Department of Licensing and Registration has received over $10 trillion in data center project applications in two months, while the state permitted the 7.65 gigawatt GW Ranch facility in West Texas. The private power campus is designed to support hyperscale data centers without straining the ERCOT grid, but environmental groups warn the gas-powered facility could emit up to 33 million tons of greenhouse gases annually.

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Devon Energy and Coterra Energy to merge, creating $58 billion shale company with Houston headquarters

Mae De Vera, LAWIN.news022 views

Devon Energy and Coterra Energy will merge in a $58 billion all-stock deal, with the combined company to be headquartered in Houston and led by Devon CEO Clay Gaspar. The merger is expected to produce more than 1.6 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, generate $1 billion in annual cost savings and close in the second quarter of 2026 pending regulatory and shareholder approvals.

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United to launch $5.4 million Terminal C support space expansion as IAH’s $2.55 billion Terminal B rebuild continues

Mae De Vera, LAWIN.news095 views

United Airlines will start a $5.4 million, 17,000-square-foot Facilities Space Centralization Project at Terminal C in Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport on February 3, 2026, consolidating support teams and adding offices, shops and staff amenities while the $2.55 billion Terminal B Transformation—doubling processing space, adding new gates and rebuilding the United Club—continues toward an expected completion in fall 2026.

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Bass Pro Shops to open 72,000-square-foot store as anchor of $80 million Abilene retail project

Mae De Vera, LAWIN.news0118 views

Bass Pro Shops will open a 72,000-square-foot store as the anchor tenant of Rainy Creek, an $80 million, 35-acre retail development along Interstate 20 in Abilene. Developer Wallace Ventures plans more than 200,000 additional square feet of shops, restaurants and a gym, as the fast-growing West Texas city adds major projects and population around its expanding I‑20 corrid

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Texas employers logged 27,188 major layoffs in 2025, led by a few large corporate cuts

Mae De Vera, LAWIN.news0101 views

Texas companies reported 27,188 layoffs in 2025 through WARN filings, a slight drop from 2024 but still driven by major cuts at Tyson Foods, FedEx, Chewy, TTEC and Southwest Airlines, along with smaller reductions across logistics, manufacturing and services. The data show how a handful of large events and dozens of moderate layoffs reshaped workforces statewide even as the broader Texas economy continued to add jobs.

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Houston oil and gas industry expected to cut 3,200 jobs in 2026 as prices pressure drilling

Mae De Vera, LAWIN.news0125 views

A Greater Houston Partnership forecast says upstream oil and gas companies are likely to cut about 3,200 jobs in 2026 as lower crude prices slow drilling, with manufacturing and administrative support sectors also losing thousands of positions. Even so, the region is projected to add nearly 31,000 net jobs overall, led by health care, construction, education and professional services.

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CyrusOne proposes $430 million data center in Whitney as Texas buildout accelerates

Mae De Vera, LAWIN.news0128 views

CyrusOne has filed plans with Texas regulators to construct a 93,319‑square‑foot, single‑story data center in Whitney, about 35 miles north of Waco, with construction targeted from February 2026 to April 2027. The $430 million project would be the company’s smallest Texas facility and comes amid a broader surge in data center and AI infrastructure investments across the state, including Google’s recently announced $40 billion expansion.

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