Texas Governor Broadens Data Center Moratorium to Include Environmental Permits
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has expanded a statewide moratorium on data center approvals, now encompassing environmental permits, until audits by ERCOT and the Texas Water Development Board are finalized. This action broadens a previous grid-related moratorium, aiming to protect the state's natural resources and way of life by covering projects that bypassed initial grid approval.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to cease issuing environmental permits for data centers, expanding an existing moratorium. This directive, detailed in a letter to TCEQ, broadens the scope of a previous August moratorium that primarily focused on grid approvals.
The governor's order specifies that no state agency should proceed with regulatory approvals for data centers until ongoing audits by the Public Utility Commission (PUC), ERCOT, and the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) are completed. Abbott stated that this "whole-of-government approach" is necessary to protect Texas's natural resources and way of life. The broadened moratorium specifically targets behind-the-meter projects that bypass grid approval and extends to parts of the state outside ERCOT's jurisdiction that were not covered by the initial August mandate.