Former Locker Plant, Merkel
IndustrialTaylor County, Texas · ERCOT
At a glance
Former Locker Plant, Merkel is an industrial datacenter candidate site in Taylor County, Texas, scoring 54.4/100 DC Readiness — 37th of 42 scored sites in the county. It sits in the ERCOT grid region and the TAYLOR ELECTRIC COOP INC - (TX) service territory, where interconnection has averaged 3.5 years from request to operation.
Power & interconnection
Speed to power
Texas note: Since August 3, 2026, ERCOT has paused approvals to energize new datacenter and crypto-mining loads of 75 MW or more until a verification audit and a community impact review are complete; both reports are due to the Public Utility Commission of Texas by December 10, 2026. ERCOT speed-to-power scores here were set before the pause and do not reflect it. ERCOT board update.
Deep queue and long historical waits — plan for a multi-year interconnection timeline and engage the utility early.
Connectivity
Risk & environment
Location context
Regulatory climate
No statewide moratorium, but since Aug 3, 2026 ERCOT has paused approvals to energize new datacenter and crypto loads ≥75 MW pending an audit due Dec 10, 2026. SB 6 adds large-load obligations above 75 MW.
SB 6: loads ≥75 MW accept ERCOT emergency curtailment + contribute to interconnection cost.
Incentive detail: Chapter 313/Chapter 403 property tax abatements; Texas Enterprise Fund; no state income tax.
Site location
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How does Former Locker Plant, Merkel compare with other sites in Taylor County?
Former Locker Plant, Merkel ranks 37th of 42 scored candidate sites in Taylor County. Its 54.4/100 is roughly in line with the county average of 59.3. It is roughly in line with the Texas average of 56.4 and roughly in line with the national average of 53.2.
Against the Texas average, its strongest sub-score is speed to power (78 vs 72) and its weakest is power availability (30 vs 46). Power and speed to power each carry 20% of the composite score, fiber 12%, water 7% and hazard 6%.
How close is Former Locker Plant, Merkel to power, fiber and other datacenters?
6 fiber providers report service at the location in FCC broadband data. The closest operating datacenter on record is Datacenter 1530966392, 11.4 miles away.
What are the flood, water and hazard risks at Former Locker Plant, Merkel?
At the county level, FEMA's National Risk Index rates Taylor County "Very High".
Full DC Readiness breakdown
All 13 weighted sub-scores (0–100) behind the composite DC Readiness score.
Nearby comparable sites
Other scored datacenter candidate sites in Taylor County, ranked by DC Readiness.
| Site | Type | Voltage | Capacity | Queue wait | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNKNOWN303973 | Substation-Adjacent | 345 kV | 600 MW | 3.5 yrs | 66.4 |
| OZ Taylor | Greenfield | — | — | 3.5 yrs | 65.5 |
| BLUFF CREEK | Substation-Adjacent | 345 kV | 600 MW | 3.5 yrs | 64.9 |
| CENTRAL BLUFF | Substation-Adjacent | 345 kV | 600 MW | 3.5 yrs | 63.5 |
| UNKNOWN304859 | Substation-Adjacent | 138 kV | 100 MW | 3.5 yrs | 61.4 |
| UNKNOWN301359 | Substation-Adjacent | 138 kV | 100 MW | 3.5 yrs | 61.4 |
| ABILENE MAPLE STREET | Substation-Adjacent | 138 kV | 100 MW | 3.5 yrs | 61.3 |
| ABILENE INDUSTRIAL PARK | Substation-Adjacent | 138 kV | 100 MW | 3.5 yrs | 61.3 |
Former Locker Plant, Merkel: common questions
What is the DC Readiness score of Former Locker Plant, Merkel?
Former Locker Plant, Merkel scores 54.4/100 on the GridCensus DC Readiness scale, rated fair. It ranks 37th of 42 scored sites in Taylor County. The Taylor County average is 59.3 and the Texas average is 56.4.
Which electric utility serves Former Locker Plant, Merkel?
TAYLOR ELECTRIC COOP INC - (TX) (cooperative) holds the retail service territory that contains the site.
What grid region is Former Locker Plant, Merkel in?
Former Locker Plant, Merkel is in the ERCOT region. Projects interconnecting there have averaged a 3.5-year wait from queue request to operation.
Related pages
About this data
Source: GridCensus composite of HIFLD transmission and substation data, EIA, FEMA National Risk Index, FCC broadband data, PeeringDB and ISO interconnection queues, as published October 10, 2026 — GridCensus refreshes it monthly. See the methodology for how records are matched, cleaned and scored.
Cite as: GridCensus, “Former Locker Plant, Merkel, Taylor County, TX”, https://gridcensus.com/datacenter-sites/texas/taylor-county/former-locker-plant-merkel-81758002 (data as of October 10, 2026).
Dataset updated . Screening estimates derived from public data sources.
Figures are screening estimates derived from public infrastructure data. Catalogued capacity reflects theoretical candidate capacity, not deliverable or committed interconnection. Confirm all values with the utility, ISO, and on-the-ground due diligence.
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