Skybox Houston One
Harris County, TX
Source: OpenStreetMap
Skybox Houston One is an operating data center in Harris County, TX, operated by Element Critical. DataCentersExposed has documented 26 MW of reported power capacity and a 344,541 sq ft footprint at this site.
Reporting by Eric Keller · Updated Jun 18, 2026
Overview
source: linkSkybox Houston One is an operating data center in Harris County, Texas, run by Element Critical at the Skybox campus. The site spans 344,541 square feet and draws power from San Bernard Electric Coop, INC within the ERCO grid. Public records reviewed here do not identify a corporate parent above Element Critical or detail the subsidies and environmental permits tied to the project.
Operator chain
- Ultimate parentElement Critical
- Files asElement Critical
- This facilitySkybox Houston One
The grid behind this site, right now
source: ERCOT · gridstatus- Natural Gas43.2%
- Solar37.3%
- Coal9.7%
- Nuclear5.6%
- Wind4.1%
Real-time generation mix for the ERCOT grid this site draws from, as of Aug 17, 2026, 8:04 PM. ISO-wide, not this facility's own metering. Source: gridstatus.
Grid & water — why here
source: HIFLD · EPAThe closest existing grid infrastructure and the municipal water system this location sits in — the same constraints the buildout model screens on (it won't site a campus more than ~2 km from a substation or ~5 km from municipal water). Distances are straight-line to public HIFLD/EPA features, not a metered connection.
In the news
source: Google News- China’s Grip on Erbium and Yttrium Could Choke Data-Center GrowthIEEE Spectrum· Aug 26, 2026
- Human-Centric Design Critical for Data Centre Operations, ResilienceET Datacenters· Aug 20, 2026
- AI, Defense Spending Accelerate Global Rare Earth Element DemandMexico Business News· Jul 17, 2026
- Kazakhstan signs deal to create “Data Center Valley”Eurasianet· Jun 16, 2026
- Element Critical Elevates Scott Gould to CCO as AI Infrastructure Demands Reshape Data Center Marketcitybiz· May 28, 2026
- Cities Face Resilience Challenges in Data Centre Investment BoomThe Energy Mix· Apr 14, 2026
Tax breaks & subsidies
source: Good Jobs First / GASB 77No per-deal tax break is linked to this site yet. No state discloses the recipient of a data-center abatement at the facility level, so per-site deals are rare in the public record. If you have a development agreement or board resolution for this site, send it to us.
Texas reported $16.1M in Property used in certain large data center projects; temporary exemption (Texas Tax Code § 151.3595) for FY2025 (Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts). Program-wide, not attributable to this site.
Water use
No measured record exists, so this is a low-confidence model from 37 MW (interconnection capacity): 2 L/kWh cooling (hot climate) + 0.45 gal/kWh embedded in US grid average. How we estimate. Have a utility document? Send it and we'll replace this with the real figure.
EPA permits & violations
source: EPA ECHONo reported violations as of last sync.
Air quality near this site
source: AirNowAir Quality Index from the nearest AirNow reporting area (Houston-Galveston-Brazoria), as of 2026-06-10. Regional context — not this facility's own emissions.
Who lives nearby
source: Census ACS 2023Demographics of the census tract this facility sits in (American Community Survey 5-year estimates). Environmental-justice context for who bears the local impacts.
Nearest school
source: HIFLD / NCESThe nearest public school, Diane Winborn El in Katy, is 0.6 mi from this site (737 students). 4 public schools sit within a mile of the site.
Schools are sensitive receptors for the noise, backup-generator exhaust, and traffic a large data center brings. Straight-line distance to the nearest public school (HIFLD/NCES, US public schools only).
Hearings timeline
No public-hearing records linked to this site yet. We surface planning-commission and board-of-supervisors dates when a record names a facility. If you know of a hearing on this site, tell us.