President Donald Trump has expressed disapproval of Texas's decision to pause approvals for new data centers, calling it a misstep in an interview with Punchbowl News. He stated that the potential of the data center industry could surpass that of oil, emphasizing the economic benefits these projects bring to communities.
The pause, announced by Governor Greg Abbott, halts new data center approvals connecting to the ERCOT grid until state agencies conduct audits. These audits aim to evaluate various factors, including tax incentives and resource consumption.
Abbott's spokesperson noted that the pause was necessary due to a lack of information from the industry, with less than 10 percent of data centers providing the requested power and water usage data.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is currently managing over 1,800 projects seeking connections, which represent more than 474 gigawatts of requested capacity. Abbott has indicated that approximately 90 percent of these requests originate from data centers. Projections suggest that water usage by data centers in Texas could reach between 29 billion and 161 billion gallons annually by 2030.
No announcements have been made regarding changes to the current order from either the governor's office or the White House.
