Data center boom targets Texas’ most productive farmland, fueling power clashes

Texas Commissioner of Agriculture Sid Miller has emerged as a key figure in the growing debate over data center expansion in Texas, criticizing the rapid conversion of productive farmland into industrial server sites. Miller argues that these projects, along with solar and wind farms, target prime agricultural land due to existing infrastructure like water, electricity, and roads, leading to permanent loss of valuable land.

Miller has proposed "agriculture Freedom zones" to direct data center development to less productive land and has repeatedly called for a one-year moratorium on new hyperscale data centers. He cites Texas's recent surge in data center designations, claiming the state now hosts over 500 such facilities. He expresses concerns that counties lack sufficient authority to regulate these developments and warns that the state's power grid and water resources, already strained, cannot support the escalating demand. Miller suggests data centers utilize produced water from oil and gas operations or deep earth water for cooling and advocates for the development of small modular reactors to address electricity needs.

Despite acknowledging the need for data centers, Miller seeks a more controlled approach. He criticized state incentives that he claims amount to paying companies to locate in Texas rather than generating tax revenue. Miller appealed to Governor Greg Abbott to impose the one-year moratorium, but Abbott declined. Miller alleges this refusal is linked to millions of dollars in campaign contributions Abbott has received from the data center industry, suggesting a conflict of interest. He has urged Abbott to call a special legislative session to quickly implement necessary "guardrails" for development.