# McLennan County, Texas: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy Home to Waco, Hewitt and Robinson The data center boom is not abstract in McLennan County: it is on the ground here. The SAVRN Data Center Map lists 3 data centers in McLennan County. McLennan County is home to Waco, Hewitt, Robinson and Bellmead. 529 MW of new generation is planned here across 6 units, led by Gransolar Texas Eight, LLC (solar). 43 MW of it is already under construction or built. Construction employs 8,648, up 19.7% since 2019, and construction is 1.3 times as concentrated here as in the U.S. economy. 570 MW of that came online in 2019 or later, mostly battery storage. 3 data centers on the SAVRN Data Center Map 529 MW of new generation planned here, solar leading 1,588 MW of operating power plants, mostly coal ## Cities and towns in McLennan County McLennan County is home to Waco, Hewitt, Robinson and Bellmead. Waco147,788 residents Hewitt16,754 residents Robinson13,028 residents Bellmead10,592 residents Woodway9,753 residents Lacy-Lakeview7,240 residents McGregor6,405 residents West2,629 residents Mart1,840 residents Beverly Hills1,835 residents Lorena1,817 residents Moody1,650 residents Bruceville-Eddy1,483 residents Gholson1,274 residents Riesel1,061 residents Crawford934 residents Hallsburg455 residents Leroy361 residents Ross197 residents Golinda156 residents · 22% of the city - Golinda also extends into [Falls County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/falls-county). Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): China Spring, Willow Grove. Residents are 2025 Census estimates for the part of each city, town or township inside this county. Census publishes no annual estimate for unincorporated communities. ## What changed in McLennan County | Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Texas | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population (2020 → 2025) | 261,189 | 272,020 | ▲ 4.1% | 21st of 254 by size | | Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 113,432 | 122,992 | ▲ 8.4% | 96th of 254 by growth | | Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $46,902 | $63,483 | ▲ 35.4% | — | | Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 7,225 | 8,648 | ▲ 19.7% | 76th of 155 by growth | | Power line construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 116 | 199 | ▲ 71.6% | — | | Electric utility jobs (2019 → 2025) | 378 | 391 | ▲ 3.4% | — | | Data processing and hosting jobs (2019 → 2025) | 42 | 132 | ▲ 214.3% | — | | Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 3.4% | 4.3% | ▲ 0.9pts | — | | Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 570 MW | | — | | Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW | | — | | Planned generation (Aug 2026) | — | 529 MW | 33% of today's fleet | 47th of 149 by size | Its power plants have 1,588 MW of capacity, 63% of it coal. Employers here counted 122,992 jobs in 2025, up 8.4% from 2019. Unemployment was 4.3% in August 2026, against 3.4% in 2019. Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC is the largest utility serving McLennan County, one of 5 with territory here. It delivers power that customers buy from competing retail providers. 272,020 people live here, up 4.1% since 2020. ## Who powers McLennan County ### Utilities with service territory in McLennan County | Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC | — | Delivery only (retail choice) | 3,477,215 | — | — | | Texas-New Mexico Power Co | — | Delivery only (retail choice) | 233,056 | — | — | | HILCO Electric Cooperative, Inc. | Cooperative | Bundled | 26,883 | 14.91¢ | 28% | | Navasota Valley Elec Coop, Inc | Cooperative | Bundled | 19,672 | 15.75¢ | 21% | | Heart of Texas Electric Coop | Cooperative | Bundled | 18,722 | 12.62¢ | 14% | Customer counts, prices and sales shares cover each utility's whole system in the state, not only this county. Commercial sales include data centers. ### Operating power plants | Technology | Capacity | Share | |---|---|---| | Coal | 1,008 MW | 63% | | Battery storage | 400 MW | 25% | | Solar | 175 MW | 11% | | Natural gas | 6 MW | 0% | | Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since | |---|---|---|---|---| | Sandy Creek Energy Station | Sandy Creek Energy Associates LP | Coal | 1,008 MW | 2013 | | PP Jaguar BESS LLC | PP Jaguar BESS LLC | Battery storage | 300 MW | 2025 | | Copperhead Solar, LLC | Geronimo Power | Solar | 250 MW | 2024 | | Eddy II | Cypress Creek Renewables | Solar | 10 MW | 2018 | | EDFR Bluebonnet | Texas Bluebonnet Solar Partners, LLC | Solar | 10 MW | 2023 | | AbbVie Waco | Generate ER-NG, LLC | Natural gas | 6 MW | 2023 | ### Planned generation | Plant | Technology | MW | Status | Year | Owner | |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Tokio Solar | Solar Photovoltaic | 170 MW | Planned, approvals not started | 2027 | Gransolar Texas Eight, LLC | | Pepper Solar Farm | Solar Photovoltaic | 120 MW | Planned, approvals not started | 2027 | Pepper Solar Farm, LLC | | Albatross Solar, LLC | Solar Photovoltaic | 101 MW | Planned, approvals not started | 2027 | Sunraycer Assets I LLC | | Albatross Solar, LLC | Batteries | 50 MW | Planned, approvals not started | 2027 | Sunraycer Assets I LLC | | Braswell Solar | Solar Photovoltaic | 44 MW | Approvals pending | 2028 | Gransolar Texas Nine LLC | | GPI WACO Power | Natural Gas Fired Combustion Turbine | 43 MW | Under construction (≤50%) | 2027 | Graphic Packaging International - WACO | ## The McLennan County labor market | Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. | |---|---|---|---| | All industries | 122,992 | $63,483 | 1.00 | | Construction | 8,648 | $71,455 | 1.33 | | Power and communication line construction | 199 | $71,048 | 1.00 | | Electric utilities | 391 | $135,586 | 1.17 | | Data processing and hosting | 132 | $50,300 | 0.35 | Concentration is the BLS location quotient: 1.0 means the industry holds the same share of local jobs as it does nationally. Industry rows count private employers; cells BLS suppresses are left out. ## Data centers and local rules in McLennan County 3 data centers in McLennan County are on the SAVRN Data Center Map. ## McLennan County and its neighbors Of the 6 counties that border McLennan County, Hill County carries the most build-out activity: data centers, planned generation and operating plants combined. [[[[[[ | County | Population | Jobs since 2019 | Operating MW | Planned MW | Data centers | Local measures | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | McLennan County | 272,020 | ▲ 8.4% | 1,588 MW | 529 MW | 3 | — | | Bell County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/bell-county) | 402,248 | ▲ 8.1% | 2,817 MW | 903 MW | 4 | 1 | | Bosque County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/bosque-county) | 18,918 | ▲ 1.6% | 1,340 MW | 217 MW | 1 | — | | Coryell County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/coryell-county) | 85,592 | ▼ 5.2% | 56 MW | 50 MW | — | — | | Falls County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/falls-county) | 17,869 | ▼ 4.7% | 941 MW | 500 MW | — | — | | Hill County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/hill-county) | 39,503 | ▲ 18.1% | 1,543 MW | 1,820 MW | — | 2 | | Limestone County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/limestone-county) | 22,849 | ▲ 6.2% | 3,088 MW | 403 MW | — | — | ## More of Texas [All Texas countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas)[Bell County402,248 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/bell-county)[Coryell County85,592 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/coryell-county)[Hill County39,503 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/hill-county)[Limestone County22,849 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/limestone-county)[Bosque County18,918 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/bosque-county) ## McLennan County, answered from the record ### Who provides electricity in McLennan County, Texas? 5 utilities have service territory in McLennan County in the EIA-861 2024 report: Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC, Texas-New Mexico Power Co, HILCO Electric Cooperative, Inc., Navasota Valley Elec Coop, Inc. ### What county is Waco, TX in? Waco is in McLennan County, Texas. About 147,788 people live there (2025 Census estimate). ### What county is Hewitt, TX in? Hewitt is in McLennan County, Texas. About 16,754 people live there (2025 Census estimate). ### What county is Robinson, TX in? Robinson is in McLennan County, Texas. About 13,028 people live there (2025 Census estimate). ### What power plants are in McLennan County? 7 operating plants with 1,588 MW of capacity. The largest is Sandy Creek Energy Station (1,008 MW, coal). ### How much new power is planned in McLennan County? 529 MW across 6 units in the August 2026 EIA-860M inventory, 43 MW of it under construction or built. The largest owner is Gransolar Texas Eight, LLC. ### Are there data centers in McLennan County? Yes. The SAVRN Data Center Map lists 3 data centers in McLennan County. ### Is McLennan County adding jobs? Employers counted 122,992 jobs in 2025 against 113,432 in 2019 (+8.4%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 7,225 to 8,648. ### Does McLennan County have a data center moratorium? No county-level measure is on record for McLennan County. Texas has 25 local measures statewide, listed on the state page. --- Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/mclennan-county Updated: 2026-10-08. Refreshed weekly by SAVRN from EIA, BLS, BEA, Census and the SAVRN trackers. License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).