Hinojosa urges Abbott to halt new data centers until lawmakers act
Democratic gubernatorial nominee Gina Hinojosa called for an emergency statewide moratorium on data center development in Texas until new regulations are passed, citing concerns about water, electricity, noise, and local input. Governor Abbott, meanwhile, announced a developer would not proceed with a project southeast of Dallas and stated he would push lawmakers to codify expectations for data centers, including fully funded electrical infrastructure.
Democratic gubernatorial nominee Gina Hinojosa urged Texas Governor Greg Abbott to enact an emergency statewide moratorium on new data center development. During a virtual news conference, Hinojosa emphasized the need for a halt until the Texas Legislature can pass comprehensive statewide regulations, citing community concerns regarding water usage, electricity demand, noise pollution, and insufficient local input.
Hinojosa asserted that Governor Abbott possesses the authority to implement such a moratorium immediately, without waiting for the next legislative session. She is challenging Governor Abbott in the upcoming November election.
Concurrently, Governor Abbott announced that a developer had decided not to proceed with a proposed data center project located southeast of Dallas. Abbott attributed this decision to the project not meeting his directives for data centers. He further stated his intention to advocate for lawmakers to codify his expectations, which include requirements for data centers to fully fund their own electric infrastructure to protect customers and for new facilities to be built with water-efficient designs.