Texas Slams the Brakes on Its Data Center Boom

Texas Slams the Brakes on Its Data Center Boom
Texas spent years courting the data-center boom with cheap land, abundant energy and light-touch rules. Now the state that hoped to become AI’s epicenter is asking whether its grid can survive the rush.

The pressure built quickly. In January, ERCOT’s queue held 233 gigawatts of proposed projects; within less than six months, it had more than doubled to 474 gigawatts. Roughly 90% of those requests came from data centers, a pipeline exceeding five times Texas’ record peak electricity demand.

On August 3, Gov. Greg Abbott directed the Public Utility Commission of Texas and ERCOT to conduct a “comprehensive verification and audit” of data centers moving through the interconnection process. Before connecting, developers must disclose expected annual and peak power use, dependence on the ERCOT grid, water sources and consumption, incentives, ownership and plans to curb noise, light and other neighborhood impacts.

Supporters of the intervention see a necessary check on a queue swollen with projects that may never be built. Abbott’s office warned that the “unprecedented load growth could endanger the reliability and stability” of the Texas grid. The governor had first sought information through a voluntary survey; with limited response, the state moved to mandatory scrutiny.

Critics say the pause is incomplete. It does not stop facilities that generate power on-site, and the review focuses on direct cooling water use while potentially missing water consumed by power plants. Texas’ fast-growing data-center fleet also benefits from tax breaks that have risen above $1 billion annually.

The audit has already disrupted ERCOT’s planned “Batch Zero” connection process. It also marks a sharp political turn: a business-friendly state confronting rising worries over electricity bills, drought and the local footprint of the infrastructure powering AI.

Continue reading https://foxvector.com/stories/019fcfaa-31c8-132d-71ea-352cbf7f7ddb