Texas agriculture commissioner candidate calls for moratorium on data centers

Democratic nominee for Texas agriculture commissioner, Clayton Tucker, has publicly called for a full moratorium on all data center construction across Texas. Representing the Texas Farmers Union, Tucker expressed significant concern over the substantial water requirements of data centers, fearing these projects will intensify the challenges faced by the state's agricultural sector, particularly amid ongoing droughts. He vowed that if elected, he would immediately initiate agricultural impact studies to slow down and scrutinize data center development. Conversely, Republican candidate Nate Sheets argued that other issues, such as consolidation within agriculture leading to larger farms displacing smaller ones, pose a greater threat to Texas farmers than data center expansion. Sheets also highlighted the national security implications of data center growth, emphasizing the race for AI supremacy. He suggested that elected officials and communities should collaborate with data center companies rather than viewing them as adversaries. The debate comes as the number of data centers registered with the Texas Comptroller has surged from 11 in 2020 to over 120 projected by 2026. A report from the Houston Advanced Research Center estimates that data centers currently consume 25 billion gallons of water annually, a figure projected to rise to 161 billion gallons by 2030. Luke Metzger, executive director of Environment Texas, noted that while data centers currently use less than 1% of the state's water, this could increase to 2.6%, causing significant water stress in drought-prone regions.