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EXCLUSIVE: As massive data centers rise across the country to power America’s artificial intelligence boom, one of the industry’s biggest builders is making the case that the benefits extend far beyond the technology inside.
During an exclusive tour of Compass Datacenters’ sprawling campus in Red Oak, Texas, Fox News Digital got a rare look inside the infrastructure behind the nation’s growing appetite for computing.
Getting inside took roughly three months’ of approvals.
Once on site, Fox News Digital passed through six layers of security and suited up in personal protective equipment before entering the facility, where photos and recording devices were prohibited. Beyond the checkpoints, the interior was remarkably clean and surprisingly quiet, with little of the industrial noise one might expect from an operation running around the clock.
Inside, rows of towering server racks stretched across the spotless floor, surrounded by the electrical and cooling systems needed to keep the equipment operating.
At Red Oak, Compass uses a closed-loop cooling system that recirculates coolant rather than continuously drawing water to cool the equipment.
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Racks of graphics processing units (GPUs) with a closed-loop liquid cooling system are seen inside an operational Microsoft data center. (Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images)
Compass CEO Chris Crosby, a North Texas native, said the Red Oak campus has not used water for cooling since it began operating.
“We haven’t used water since inception,” Crosby said, noting the importance of conserving the region’s resources. “Water is precious in North Texas.”
Beyond cooling, security is another major consideration for facilities housing vast amounts of computing infrastructure.
Crosby the extensive security is not about keeping the facilities secret, but rather protecting the sensitive information and critical infrastructure housed inside.
“Hacking is real, attacks on infrastructure are real,” Crosby said. “If people knew that a bank or a government was operating at a particular facility, they could infiltrate that facility. So that’s why the levels of security are so high at our campuses.”
The campus, roughly 20 miles south of Dallas, will eventually include 10 data center buildings spanning roughly 2.6 million square feet. A Schneider Electric manufacturing facility and a workforce training center operated in partnership with Texas State Technical College are also located on the campus.
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Compass Datacenters CEO Chris Crosby says data center developers should work with communities early and invest in local priorities, from workforce training to public services. (Graham Hughes/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
Crosby says the development offers a glimpse at an often-overlooked side of America’s data center boom: blue-collar jobs.
“Data centers are where the economic engine is going to be going forward,” Crosby told Fox News Digital, pointing to the jobs, economic activity and tax revenue generated by the industry.
Roughly 600 people work for Compass at the campus, while Schneider Electric employs about 300 more, according to Crosby. Thousands of construction workers have also cycled through the development since work began in 2019.
And the company says it needs more.
“We can’t get enough people into this career,” Crosby said.
That demand helped spur the creation of MEI Pathways, a workforce development program built in partnership with Texas State Technical College. The $12.6 million training facility offers a 12-week program aimed at preparing electricians, mechanics and technicians for jobs in the industry.
Building data centers also requires an array of skilled trades, including carpenters, welders and concrete workers.
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“There was a war on blue-collar jobs for a long time — everybody had to get a four-year degree,” Crosby said. “I’m so glad that’s over with.”
Compass has worked with local officials on roads, sewer and other infrastructure and donated $15 million toward a new animal shelter after Ellis County’s previous shelter arrangement ended.
The investments come as Texas grapples with how to accommodate the enormous electricity demands accompanying the industry’s growth while protecting the reliability of its power grid.
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The AI boom is accelerating demand for data centers across Texas as companies seek more space, power and infrastructure to support increasingly intensive computing needs. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
For Crosby, however, the debate should also account for what is happening outside the server rooms.
“I am tired of the elitism that this doesn’t create jobs,” he said.