Governor Greg Abbott has halted approvals for new data centers looking to connect to the Texas electric grid, instructing state regulators to conduct audits of these projects first. This directive was issued in a letter to the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas on August 3.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is currently monitoring over 1,800 projects in its interconnection queue, which collectively represent more than 474 gigawatts of requested capacity. This figure is significantly higher than the grid's peak demand record, with approximately 90 percent of these requests coming from data centers. The queue has seen rapid growth, nearly doubling from 233 gigawatts in January.
The pause is particularly impactful for the Dallas-Fort Worth area, which is the second largest data center market in the U.S. Analysts suggest Texas could surpass Northern Virginia to become the largest market globally by 2030. North Texas alone has 26 large data center campuses planned, making the region heavily affected by the new directive.
The audits will require data on electricity demand, water usage, noise mitigation, and other factors. Abbott's office had previously sought this information voluntarily, but a lack of responses led to the decision for mandatory audits. There is currently no specified end date for these audits.
Van Alstyne is about 46 miles north of Dallas.
