# Taylor County, Texas: Power, Data Centers and the Local Economy

Home to Abilene, Merkel and Tye

Taylor County is one of the places the data center build-out is physically happening. The SAVRN Data Center Map lists 45 data centers in Taylor County, 10% of Texas's total. Taylor County is home to most of Abilene (125,818 of its 131,588 residents), Merkel, Tye and Tuscola. 299 MW of new generation is planned here across 2 units, led by RIC Development, LLC (battery storage). Construction employs 3,685, up 11.3% since 2019. Its power plants have 991 MW of capacity, 98% of it wind.

45
data centers on the SAVRN Data Center Map, 10% of Texas's

299 MW
of new generation planned here, battery storage leading

991 MW
of operating power plants, mostly wind

## Cities and towns in Taylor County

Taylor County is home to most of Abilene (125,818 of its 131,588 residents), Merkel, Tye and Tuscola.

Abilene125,818 residents · 96% of the city
Merkel2,496 residents
Tye1,264 residents
Tuscola851 residents
Buffalo Gap684 residents
Lawn313 residents
Trent299 residents
- Abilene also extends into [Jones County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/jones-county).

Unincorporated communities (governed by the county): Potosi.

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 Taylor County

| Measure | Then | Now | Change | Rank in Texas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population (2020 → 2025) | 143,484 | 150,077 | ▲ 4.6% | 35th of 254 by size |
| Total jobs (2019 → 2025) | 64,445 | 68,821 | ▲ 6.8% | 108th of 254 by growth |
| Average annual pay (2019 → 2025) | $44,118 | $58,252 | ▲ 32.0% | — |
| Construction jobs (2019 → 2025) | 3,311 | 3,685 | ▲ 11.3% | 92nd of 155 by growth |
| Electrical contractor jobs (2019 → 2025) | 705 | 760 | ▲ 7.8% | — |
| Electric utility jobs (2019 → 2025) | 280 | 578 | ▲ 106.4% | — |
| Unemployment rate (2019 → August 2026) | 2.9% | 3.7% | ▲ 0.8pts | — |
| Generating capacity added since 2019 | — | 20 MW |  | — |
| Generating capacity retired since 2019 | — | 0 MW |  | — |
| Planned generation (Aug 2026) | — | 299 MW | 30% of today's fleet | 87th of 149 by size |

Employers here counted 68,821 jobs in 2025, up 6.8% from 2019. 20 MW of that came online in 2019 or later, mostly battery storage. Electrical contractors employ 760, up 7.8% since 2019 against up 24.0% statewide, at an average $72,789 a year. Unemployment was 3.7% in August 2026, against 2.9% in 2019. AEP Texas North Company is the largest utility serving Taylor County, one of 3 with territory here. It delivers power that customers buy from competing retail providers. 150,077 people live here, up 4.6% since 2020.

## Who powers Taylor County

### Utilities with service territory in Taylor County

| Utility | Ownership | Service | Residential customers (systemwide) | Residential price, 2024 | Commercial share of sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AEP Texas North Company | — | Delivery only (retail choice) | 157,455 | — | — |
| Taylor Electric Coop Inc - (TX) | Cooperative | Bundled | 18,722 | 15.37¢ | 14% |
| Coleman County Elec Coop, Inc | — | — | — | — | — |

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 |
|---|---|---|
| Wind | 970 MW | 98% |
| Battery storage | 20 MW | 2% |
| Natural gas | 1 MW | 0% |

| Largest plants | Owner | Technology | MW | Since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center | FPL Energy Horse Hollow LLC | Wind | 736 MW | 2005 |
| Buffalo Gap Wind Farm | AES Distributed Energy | Wind | 121 MW | 2006 |
| Callahan Divide Wind Energy Center | FPL Energy Callahan Wind, LLC | Wind | 114 MW | 2005 |
| DGS Five Points | Distributed Generation Solutions LLC | Battery storage | 10 MW | 2026 |
| Plaza Street | DGSP2 LLC | Battery storage | 10 MW | 2026 |
| HEB00070 | Texas Microgrid, LLC | Natural gas | 1 MW | 2018 |

### Planned generation 

| Plant | Technology | MW | Status | Year | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chimney Rock BESS | Batteries | 156 MW | Planned, approvals not started | 2028 | RIC Development, LLC |
| Summerhill BESS | Batteries | 143 MW | Planned, approvals not started | 2028 | RIC Development, LLC |

## The Taylor County labor market

| Industry (2025) | Jobs | Average pay | Concentration vs U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| All industries | 68,821 | $58,252 | 1.00 |
| Construction | 3,685 | $72,799 | 1.01 |
| Electrical contractors | 760 | $72,789 | 1.53 |
| Electric utilities | 578 | $95,392 | 3.10 |

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 Taylor County

45 data centers in Taylor County are on the SAVRN Data Center Map.

## Taylor County and its neighbors

Of the 6 counties that border Taylor County, Jones 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taylor County | 150,077 | ▲ 6.8% | 991 MW | 299 MW | 45 | — |
| Callahan County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/callahan-county) | 14,491 | ▲ 18.6% | 676 MW | 415 MW | — | — |
| Coleman County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/coleman-county) | 7,915 | ▲ 8.6% | — | 396 MW | — | — |
| Fisher County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/fisher-county) | 3,692 | ▼ 0.5% | 509 MW | 330 MW | — | — |
| Jones County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/jones-county) | 20,861 | ▲ 8.2% | 201 MW | 1,418 MW | — | — |
| Nolan County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/nolan-county) | 14,117 | ▼ 2.2% | 2,772 MW | 831 MW | 1 | — |
| Runnels County](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/runnels-county) | 9,693 | ▲ 6.4% | 125 MW | — | — | — |

## More of Texas

[All Texas countiesThe state power page and county mapOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas)[Jones County20,861 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/jones-county)[Callahan County14,491 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/callahan-county)[Nolan County14,117 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/nolan-county)[Runnels County9,693 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/runnels-county)[Coleman County7,915 peopleOpen →](https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/coleman-county)

## Taylor County, answered from the record

### Who provides electricity in Taylor County, Texas?

3 utilities have service territory in Taylor County in the EIA-861 2024 report: AEP Texas North Company, Taylor Electric Coop Inc - (TX), Coleman County Elec Coop, Inc.

### What county is Abilene, TX in?

Most of Abilene is in Taylor County: 125,818 of its 131,588 residents, or 96%. The rest of the city lies in Jones County.

### What power plants are in Taylor County?

6 operating plants with 991 MW of capacity. The largest is Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center (736 MW, wind).

### How much new power is planned in Taylor County?

299 MW across 2 units in the August 2026 EIA-860M inventory, 0 MW of it under construction or built. The largest owner is RIC Development, LLC.

### Are there data centers in Taylor County?

Yes. The SAVRN Data Center Map lists 45 data centers in Taylor County.

### Is Taylor County adding jobs?

Employers counted 68,821 jobs in 2025 against 64,445 in 2019 (+6.8%, BLS QCEW). Construction went from 3,311 to 3,685.

### Does Taylor County have a data center moratorium?

No county-level measure is on record for Taylor County. Texas has 25 local measures statewide, listed on the state page.

---
Canonical: https://savrn.com/power-supply-chain-map/texas/taylor-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/).