TEXAS — In the next two years, Texas is expected to get a new No. 1 ranking: the state with the most data centers. With that growth comes pushback, and not just in Texas. Nationwide, more than a dozen states are currently considering bills to stop data center construction. State lawmakers have also taken up discussions ahead of the January start of the 90th Texas Legislature’s regular session.
Committee meetings are being held at the Texas Capitol to discuss data centers and their potential effects on nearby communities.
“When there’s a concentration of these data centers, how does that impact the quality of air for residential persons living in and near around those data centers?” asked state Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston, during the first meeting.
Texas is not the only state looking more closely at data centers. More than a dozen states across the country are considering some sort of moratorium on these kinds of projects, with Maine being the first to send legislation to its governor’s desk.
“It is a temporary, targeted pause only for projects over 20 megawatts,” said Maine Rep. Melanie Sachs, D-Freeport.
Sachs is the sponsor of what its state government calls Legislative Document 307. She says her constituents have concerns about the environmental impact of data centers.
“We pretty much have a consistent, I would say, culture of really making sure that our environment and our communities are protected, in a way, and we prioritize that,” Sachs said.
Maine Gov. Janet Mills ultimately vetoed the bill.
Back in Texas, with Gov. Greg Abbott strongly supporting data center growth in the state, experts don’t believe a ban on these projects will come to Texas.
“As long as Republicans control the apparatus of state government, I think it’s unlikely that we would see any sort of sweeping statewide action,” said Matthew Wilson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University.
He also says where politicians stand on this issue could affect the midterms and the 2027 legislative session.
“Some of the state energy providers, like ERCOT, are saying that demand for power this summer could be at all-time records, in part because of the power needs of data centers, and if that results in blackouts anywhere in the state, all of a sudden this becomes a huge issue,” Wilson said.