Is Texas Still Open for Data Center Business?

It was only a year ago that Governor Abbott declared Texas the epicenter of AI development and announced a $40 billion investment from Google. This August, he ordered a moratorium on new data center grid approvals and directed ERCOT to audit every project in its interconnection queue.
 
The regulatory environment for data centers in Texas has shifted quickly, and other states are sure to follow. Brett Schouest breaks down what developers and investors need to know.

Key takeaways:

• ERCOT’s Batch Zero audit covers 250–300 projects representing more than 200 gigawatts of potential demand (over 2x the grid’s peak demand record)
• No project moves forward until the audit is complete, which ERCOT has estimated will take several months
• Abbott’s standards establish threshold requirements across power, water, community impact, cost, and ownership transparency
• More than 43 companies have committed to comply; one abandoned its project rather than do so
• The political and regulatory environment remains fluid – grid strain, water use, and electricity costs for consumers are all active pressure points

If you have a data center project in Texas or are evaluating one, early preparation across all of Abbott’s criteria is now essential to staying in the queue.