Governor Greg Abbott has ordered a moratorium on new power grid connections for data centers in Texas, requiring developers to provide detailed assessments of their projects’ potential impacts on the state’s power grid and communities. The directive, announced on August 3, directs regulators and grid operators to conduct a comprehensive verification and audit of all data centers advancing through ERCOT’s interconnection process. ERCOT, which oversees Texas’ power grid, operates independently from the rest of the United States and serves most of the state. The move comes as data centers, which account for about 90 percent of ERCOT’s power connection requests, threaten to overwhelm the grid, according to The Texas Tribune. The ERCOT interconnection queue currently includes over 1,800 projects representing more than 474 gigawatts of demand—more than five times Texas’ record peak electricity demand. 'That unprecedented load growth could endanger the reliability and stability of the Texas electric grid,' stated Abbott’s office.
The directive also requires audits of data center projects to assess their reliance on ERCOT for power, along with projections of annual and peak electricity consumption. It further mandates information on financial assistance, ownership, and community impact measures. 'The directive also seeks to increase scrutiny of measures that data centers are taking to reduce impacts on neighboring property owners and communities, including noise mitigation, light controls, setbacks, traffic improvements, emergency response coordination and other community protection measures.' The Texas pause on data center grid connections does not apply to projects building their own on-site power generation. 'Such behind-the-meter power typically relies on natural gas,' according to CleanView. Texas leads all US states in total announced behind-the-meter capacity for data centers by having 40 gigawatts of such announced capacity. That factor is driven by the Texas Permian Basin gas supply and 'extensive pipeline infrastructure' along with the 'state’s permissive regulatory environment,' according to CleanView.
The national resistance to data centers Despite the oversight gaps, the Texas moratorium on data center approvals 'throws a massive wrench into ERCOT’s plans to bring data centers online,' according to E&E News. The Texas grid operator has been seeking to connect data center projects to the grid in groups, with notifications for the coveted first group known as 'Batch Zero' planned to go out by the end of this week. But ERCOT officials said they will postpone the Batch Zero process while working with state regulators to carry out Abbott’s directive. Abbott’s change of tune on AI data centers comes as the incumbent governor has 'seen support erode over concerns about data centers and extra-high-voltage transmission lines built in rural areas,' E&E News reported. It also pointed to polls showing Texas voters generally opposing data centers in their communities—part of a national trend among Americans—and Democratic challenger Gina Hinojosa running just one percentage point behind Abbott in a recent Fox News poll. In a statement describing Abbott’s pause as inadequate, Hinojosa called for Abbott to issue a full moratorium on data center development until the state legislature can pass stricter rules.
She and Democratic US Senate nominee James Talarico have both called for tighter regulations on Texas data centers. Community concerns about data centers include local environmental impacts and rising electricity bills. State regulators have been working with utility companies to prevent residential ratepayers and small businesses from shouldering the burden of paying for the power infrastructure upgrades necessary to accommodate data center demand. The Trump administration has touted its Ratepayer Protection Pledge signed by major US tech companies, but an Ars analysis previously highlighted how that agreement lacks any meaningful enforcement mechanism. Multiple state legislatures have introduced and debated moratoriums on data center development, including lawmakers in Virginia, according to E&E News.
Source: arstechnica
