Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to halt permitting for data centers until an ongoing state audit of the industry is completed.
In a letter sent Monday to TCEQ Executive Director Kelly Keel, Abbott directed the agency to “halt all permits sought by data centers.”
Abbott went further, stating that no state agency should move forward with regulatory approvals related to data centers until information being sought by the Public Utility Commission of Texas, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, and the Texas Water Development Board is obtained.
TCEQ specifically must pause the issuance of permits related to data center projects until ERCOT completes its review.
“Simply put, Texans must come first,” Abbott said. “Data centers must pay their own way, protect our grid and water, and complete the ERCOT and TWDB audits. Until they do, TCEQ will issue no permits sought by data center projects.”
The move is the latest escalation in Abbott’s scrutiny of the rapidly expanding data center industry, which already has over 300 facilities in the state of Texas.
In August, Abbott ordered PUCT and ERCOT to audit data centers seeking to connect to the Texas electric grid. At the time, ERCOT was considering approximately 474 gigawatts of new connection requests, with roughly 90 percent attributed to data centers.
Last week, Abbott directed TWDB to enforce water-use reporting requirements against data centers, including through potential criminal referrals and permit disqualifications. Sources indicated roughly 80 percent of data centers required to provide information about their water usage had failed to respond.
Abbott said data center projects must cover their electrical infrastructure costs, result in lower residential electric bills, complete the ERCOT and TWDB audits, report their electricity and water usage, and avoid using water needed by local communities.
Abbott also announced that he plans to work with lawmakers during the next legislative session to eliminate financial incentives for data centers.
The act marks a departure from President Donald Trump, who has argued that states that do not embrace data centers will end up “backwards and poor.”
TCEQ has until October 19 to provide Abbott with an update on its compliance with the directive.
