OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — Some Yukon residents worry a planned data center project could raise their electricity bills, strain the city’s water and power supply, and benefit wealthy corporations more than the public, as city leaders promise it will bring millions in new revenue for community improvements.As News 4 previously reported, the Yukon City Council voted last month to sell a large plot of public land to Georgia-based developer BLE Holdings.
Mayor Brian Pillmore said the company plans to build at least one data center on the site and sell it to a yet-to-be-named major tech company.
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“There’s a generational change in revenue for the city of Yukon with [a] world class company coming to our own city,” Pillmore said Wednesday in an interview with News 4. “Think of the top five, six technology companies in the world that are using these data centers for everything from when you open up your phone and you check your email to something like an artificial intelligence application gadget.”During the September 9, 2025, City Council meeting, one man said he wasn’t convinced the project was the best way forward.“I’m with you that we need to find ways to bring money to Yukon,” he said. “But I’m not convinced that the data center is the best way to do it without significant impacts to our residents.”The concern, echoed by others at recent council meetings, centers on how much water and electricity the facility will need.“There are generators for backup power, there are huge water [tanks] for cooling. There’s a lot of power going into that place,” one woman said during the August council meeting.“How will this impact our nearby lakes and our water table and those who rely on the well water?” another man asked at the September 9 meeting.Pillmore told News 4 that BLE Holdings will be responsible for solving those infrastructure issues.“They have to figure out the water out, figure out the power,” he said.He said the city’s sale agreement with BLE prevents the project from moving forward until water access is secured.“All those items have to be figured out ahead of time before an end user,” Pillmore said.On the power side, the mayor said BLE will have to work with OG&E to build the necessary infrastructure.
He said OG&E will bring 10–15 times more electricity to Yukon than it currently supplies, which would significantly increase franchise fee revenue to the city…