A new $16 billion natural gas-fired power generation hub will soon be built in rural East Texas in Anderson County. Not soon after, a new data center will also be built there, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The Texas Power Generation Hub will be jointly owned by Japan and the U.S. federal government as result of a trade agreement reached between President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

Takaichi visited Trump last October and signed an agreement representing what the president says represents “a New Golden Age of the ever-growing Japan-U.S. Alliance.” She recently visited the White House again, gifting 250 cherry trees in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States.

The trade agreement includes a 15% tariff on Japanese goods imported to the U.S. and Japan pledging to invest $550 billion in U.S. energy projects. One of them is in a rural part of East Texas where residents largely oppose data centers, as they do throughout the state.

The new Texas Natural Gas-Fired Power Generation Hub will be built and operated by NextEra, the largest energy infrastructure builder in the U.S., at an estimated cost of $16 billion.

The facility will generate up to 5.2 GW of natural gas-fired power capable of serving up to 5 GW of large-load demand. Comstock Inc. will provide the natural gas supply for the facility, which it says “could reach almost 1 Bcf per day by 2031.”

NextEra Energy said it is working with the administration to “develop reliable, large-scale power infrastructure to support America's growth and technological leadership.” The new hub is being developed in coordination with Comstock Resources to “support growing electricity demand, strengthen the U.S. industrial base and serve large-scale users, including data centers and advanced manufacturing.” Meaning data centers and more manufacturing facilities are expected to be built in the region.

John Ketchum, chairman, president and CEO of NextEra Energy said in a statement, "America needs more power, and NextEra Energy is ready to deliver. For more than a century, we have built the energy infrastructure that powers America's growth. Our hub strategy is designed to scale quickly and support rising demand while strengthening America's energy security – without increasing electricity costs for American households. We are pleased that our Texas and Pennsylvania hubs have been selected to advance the President's goal of American energy dominance."

Texas Rep. Cody Harris, R-Palestine, who represents the area, said in a Facebook post he was at the White House when Trump and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced the $16 billion project. He said it will create “3,000 long-term, high paying jobs to our community and enabling local taxing entities to slash property taxes! This will be a massive investment in HD 8 which will have a multi-generational impact. Very exciting day for our area!”

His constituents have expressed concerns that a new AI data center being built in the area would likely drain Lake Palestine or the Neches River.

Republicans and Democrats are also expressing opposition to data centers being built in rural Texas statewide.

State Rep. Helen Kerwin, R-Glen Rose, has called for an immediate pause on data center proposals to allow for impact studies on rural Texas communities. State Rep. Erin Zwiener, D-Driftwood, also announced the formation of a new data center working group to address concerns in her central Texas community.

The Anderson County project is one of three projects the Commerce Department announced as the result of a new trade deal with Japan and part of a “Japan-U.S. Strategic Investment.” One is to build small nuclear modular reactors in Tennessee and Alabama. The other two projects are to build natural gas generation facilities in Pennsylvania and Texas.

“The two natural gas generation facilities will play a critical role in meeting the rapidly growing electricity demand and in reinforcing Japan-U.S. cooperation in building supply chain in important strategic areas of economic security. The offtake from these projects will include supplying power to co-located data centers,” the Commerce Department said.