Abbott requires new data centers to provide more information before they can hook up to Texas’s grid
The directive requires regulators to verify project financing, power use, water plans and ownership before any new data center can connect.
- On Monday, Governor Greg Abbott ordered a moratorium on new data center grid connections, mandating the Public Utility Commission of Texas and Electric Reliability Council of Texas complete a comprehensive audit before approving additional projects.
- Massive power demand from data centers threatens grid stability; ERCOT is evaluating connection requests for over 474 gigawatts, more than five times the state's current record peak electricity demand.
- Under the directive, the Public Utility Commission of Texas must collect detailed disclosures including tax incentives, water usage, power generation plans, ownership transparency, and community protection measures such as "noise mitigation, light controls, setbacks, traffic improvements, emergency response coordination, and other community protection measures."
- Following the directive, ERCOT postponed the "Batch Zero" transmission planning study, while Data Center Coalition Executive Vice President Dan Diorio urged regulators to distinguish between speculative projects and serious, committed investors.
- Critics like Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa argue the governor is deflecting responsibility, as lawmakers continue scrutinizing tax incentives and water use amid growing bipartisan concern over data center impacts.
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90 Articles
The state's power grid operator has temporarily paralysed requests for connection from large consumers while reviewing a system that faces an avalanche of projects linked to artificial intelligence
Abbott Orders Pause on Data Centers
Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R-TX) ordered an audit to be conducted on data center approvals after mounting concerns over power generation. “Our top priority is to protect Texans’ safety and quality of life,” Abbott said in a statement. “Any project that fails to comply with the requirements set forth by the PUCT and ERCOT, and by state law, must be denied connection to the Texas grid. Simply put, Texans must come first.” Abbott directed the Publ…
Texas hits the brakes on data centres it once courted
Texas spent years selling itself as the easiest place in America to build a data centre. This week it started making that harder. Governor Greg Abbott, who last year called the state the “epicenter of AI development,” has ordered a pause on new data-centre connections to the power grid. Regulators must audit every project in […] This story continues at The Next Web
Data centers use lots of water and power, but Texas officials don't know exactly how much
As more and more data center developers submit proposals to build in Texas, questions about how they will impact Texas' grid and contribute to drought conditions across the state are widespread.
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