Gov. Greg Abbott broadens moratorium on data center approvals to include environmental permits
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has expanded a moratorium on data center approvals to include environmental permits, directing the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to cease issuing new permits. This action is part of a broader effort to slow data center development across the state until audits on electricity use, water consumption, and community impact are completed by ERCOT and the Texas Water Development Board. The governor emphasized that data centers must cover their own costs, protect the state's grid and water resources, and comply with audit requirements before permits are issued.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott has issued an order to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to halt the issuance of new permits for data centers. This directive expands an existing moratorium on data center development, aiming to address public concerns over the industry's rapid expansion in the state ahead of the November election.
The governor's order, communicated in a letter to TCEQ Executive Director Kelly Keel, stipulates that permit approvals will be paused until the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) complete comprehensive audits. These audits will gather information on planned data centers' electricity and water usage, their impact on local communities, ownership details, and the use of tax incentives.
Abbott emphasized that data centers must be self-sufficient, safeguard the state's electric grid and water resources, and comply with these audits. This move follows previous actions by the governor, including a June order requiring data centers to fully fund associated electric infrastructure costs and an August directive to ERCOT to deny grid connections to projects failing to provide necessary information on tax breaks, power usage, and water consumption. The latest order also seeks to address data centers that might bypass grid approval by generating their own power and follows a previous instruction to the TWDB to penalize data centers for not reporting water usage.