Local officials across Texas are increasingly resisting proposed AI-related data centers as worries mount over noise, heavy water use, and added strain on the electric grid.
The concern now extends across city governments, county leaders, and both political parties, showing that a fast-expanding tech industry is encountering wider scrutiny.
What's happening?
Texas has at least 241 planned data center projects, according to Cleanview data cited by the Houston Chronicle.
On June 16, San Marcos became the first Texas city to use zoning rules to effectively keep data centers out of its city limits. Separately, six Texas counties have urged lawmakers to make the issue a top priority in the next legislative session, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Opposition is emerging in several parts of the state. Brazoria County passed a June 10 resolution seeking regulations, and Missouri City updated its zoning rules to require a special permit process, public hearings, and disclosures of projected water and energy use for proposed facilities.
Outside Texas, at least 15 states have considered temporary data center bans, and New York recently became the first to put a statewide moratorium in place.
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Residents say development is moving faster than public communication.
"There's a lot of either state or local resistance to data centers, and that reflects just a lot of suspicion that data centers will drive up water use or drive up electricity rates or be noisy," Michael Webber, an engineering and public affairs professor at the University of Texas at Austin, told the Houston Chronicle.
Why does it matter?
The growth of AI is closely connected to the surge in data centers, because AI systems depend on huge server clusters to train models and answer user prompts at all hours.
That infrastructure may support useful AI applications, but it also uses enormous amounts of electricity and water. It has also intensified concerns that household utility bills could increase.
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Polling shows that tension clearly. A University of Houston study found that 63% of Houston-area residents opposed facilities within one mile of where they live. At the same time, 65% of respondents reported using AI at least once a month.
The issue is not only about resource consumption, but also about transparency.
What's being done?
On June 10, Gov. Greg Abbott urged the Public Utility Commission of Texas and ERCOT to shield residents from costs tied to data center expansion.
"[Gov. Abbott] is backtracking now because I've been touring the state since last year with a clear message: data centers are owned by the richest men in the world and they should pay for themselves," Gina Hinojosa, the Democratic nominee for governor, said in a recent press release.
Some officials are calling for a wider halt to new projects.
Support for a statewide moratorium has come from Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller and Clayton Tucker, the Democratic nominee for that seat. Rep. Vikki Goodwin, D-Austin, and Rep. Helen Kerwin, R-Glen Rose, have also backed a moratorium, the Houston Chronicle reported.
Others are pushing for standards instead of outright bans.
Sen. Paul Bettencourt has argued that data centers should provide their own cogeneration and rely on closed-loop water systems, measures meant to ease pressure on the grid and reduce freshwater demand.
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