Gov. Greg Abbott doubles down on limitations on Texas data centers
Governor Greg Abbott has reversed his stance on AI data center expansion in Texas, now calling for new limits, including prohibiting them from rural areas. This comes amidst strong public opposition to data center construction and specific challenges to El Paso Electric's plan to build a new power plant for Meta's expanding data center complex in El Paso. Abbott's proposals include demands for data centers to generate their own power, pay for infrastructure, and reuse water.
Governor Greg Abbott has significantly shifted his policy on data center development in Texas, moving from an advocate for aggressive AI expansion to calling for new limitations. During a campaign stop, Abbott demanded that new AI data centers be prohibited from rural neighborhoods, citing concerns about "East Texas values." This change in policy follows a June 10 letter to Pablo Vegas, president and CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), where Abbott requested that data centers add new power generation to the grid, cover their own infrastructure costs, reuse water, and implement measures like setbacks to mitigate community impact.
Meanwhile, Meta Platforms is expanding its El Paso data center complex, planning to invest over $10 billion for 11 buildings totaling 3.7 million square feet, which will require up to 1 gigawatt of electricity. This expansion has led El Paso Electric to propose a $500 million power plant, a plan now facing significant opposition. The City of El Paso, the Texas Office of Public Utility Counsel, and Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid (on behalf of an EPE customer) are actively opposing the McCloud project before the Public Utility Commission of Texas. A recent poll indicated that 56% of Texans oppose or strongly oppose new AI data center construction in their communities.