Advocacy groups and community members protest laws surrounding data centers while outside the Texas Capitol in Austin on Monday. Protestors are advocating for counties to gain legal authority to regulate data center development or enact a statewide pause until protections are in place.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
Rural residents gathered at the Texas Capitol on Monday afternoon to protest the growth of data centers, even as Texas is poised to surpass Virginia as the industry’s largest global market by 2030.
The dozens of protesters, many of whom came by bus from Hood County, called on Gov. Greg Abbott to call a special session focused on data centers.
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Texas has seen a rapid influx of data center development, with new research finding that the Lone Star State has 6.5 gigawatts of data center capacity currently under construction — equivalent to one-fifth of the U.S. data center capacity added to its pipeline last year. One gigawatt can power about 750,000 homes on average.
“We are here today to implore Gov. Abbott to take a sober look at the data center and power plant explosion in Texas and its devastating and irreversible impacts they will have,” said Brian Crawford, a Hood County resident and member of the Protect the Paluxy Valley activist organization.
Data centers are large facilities that provide critical infrastructure to support digital activity and the growth of artificial intelligence. The facilities, seen as vital for national security and the future of technology, require massive amounts of power and water to run.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the state’s main grid operator, said data centers will cause Texas energy demand to surge 71% by 2031. Recent research suggests that training and using AI could consume more water than the global bottled water industry, largely because of data center operations.
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Community members statewide have filled city council, county commissioners courts and local water utility board meetings to speak against these facilities.
Christina Speasmaker of Waco chants as advocacy groups and community members protest laws surrounding data centers outside the Texas Capitol in Austin on Monday. Protesters are advocating for counties to gain legal authority to regulate data center development or to enact a statewide pause until protections are in place.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
Residents in San Marcos successfully swayed its city council last week to deny a $1.5 billion data center proposal, but not all opponents have been as successfull. In Round Rock, protests earlier this month did little to sway the City Council, which unanimously approved what will be the suburb’s seventh data center development.
The Hood County residents who traveled to Austin on Monday were protesting in large part a 2,600-acre data center development planned for the Paluxy Valley near Dinosaur Valley State Park. The campus would include dozens of warehouse-style buildings and natural-gas-fired power plants.
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Advocacy groups and community members protest laws surrounding data centers while outside the Texas Capitol in Austin Monday, Feb. 23, 2026. Protestors are advocating for counties to gain legal authority to regulate data center development or enact a statewide pause until protections are in place.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
Nina Boyett of Ross joins advocacy groups to protest laws surrounding data centers while outside the Texas Capitol in Austin Monday, Feb. 23, 2026. Protestors are advocating for counties to gain legal authority to regulate data center development or enact a statewide pause until protections are in place.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
Advocacy groups and community members protest laws surrounding data centers while outside the Texas Capitol in Austin Monday, Feb. 23, 2026. Protestors are advocating for counties to gain legal authority to regulate data center development or enact a statewide pause until protections are in place.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
Advocacy groups and community members protest laws surrounding data centers while outside the Texas Capitol in Austin Monday, Feb. 23, 2026. Protestors are advocating for counties to gain legal authority to regulate data center development or enact a statewide pause until protections are in place.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
Advocacy groups and community members protest laws surrounding data centers while outside the Texas Capitol in Austin Monday, Feb. 23, 2026. Protestors are advocating for counties to gain legal authority to regulate data center development or enact a statewide pause until protections are in place.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
Kamil Cook protests laws surrounding data centers while outside the Texas Capitol in Austin Monday, Feb. 23, 2026. Protestors are advocating for counties to gain legal authority to regulate data center development or enact a statewide pause until protections are in place.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
Somervell County percent 3 commissioner Chip Joslin and Mary Collier join advocacy groups and community members to protest laws surrounding data centers while outside the Texas Capitol in Austin Monday, Feb. 23, 2026. Protestors are advocating for counties to gain legal authority to regulate data center development or enact a statewide pause until protections are in place.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
Advocacy groups and community members protest laws surrounding data centers while outside the Texas Capitol in Austin Monday, Feb. 23, 2026. Protestors are advocating for counties to gain legal authority to regulate data center development or enact a statewide pause until protections are in place.
Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman
“I have two babies at home, and I want them to have something when we’re not here one day,” Hood County resident Joanne Carcamo, who said she moved to Texas for a more rural life, told the American-Statesman on Monday. “I want them to have a ranch that has running water and to breathe air that’s clean. I want them to have what makes this area special. And they’re just not gonna have it if we let these data centers happen.”
The protesters gathered Monday said Abbott should call a special session to discuss possible moratoriums, or temporary pauses, on data center approvals. Many said they want the state to give counties more regulatory authority.
Under current state law, counties do not have zoning authority, often meaning proposals are approved as long as they comply with filing requirements.
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The call for a moratorium comes as the Hays County Commissioners Court is set to discuss a possible temporary ban on large industrial projects with high water demands during its meeting Tuesday.
“Our communities are being absolutely besieged by AI data centers in Hood County, in Somerville, in San Marcos, in Round Rock, in Amarillo and elsewhere across the state,” said Adrian Shelley, a Houston resident and Public Citizen Texas Office director. “Small towns and rural communities are under threat from big tech. They want our water even as our lakes are shrinking and our wells are running dry. They want our electricity even as we pay more month after month for our bills. This is happening across the state, and it is time for our lawmakers in Austin to take action.”