Abbott proposes ban on rural data centers after shifting stance
DALLAS - Gov. Greg Abbott is now calling for a ban on data centers in rural Texas. Some are calling it an about-face from the remarks he made just last year.
Data Center Debate
What we know:
Then this week, Abbott was at an event in East Texas to talk about property taxes. But he brought up the topic of data centers, saying they should not be built in rural Texas neighborhoods and those that are built need more regulation.
"Pushing back on these AI data centers that are trying to build in our neighborhoods. I’ve made it clear already, any AI data center thinking about coming here, they have to bring their own money, bring their own power, use their own water, and do it in a way that reduces the cost of electricity for residents across our state. We must prohibit them from building AI data centers in rural Texas neighborhoods. We must eliminate the tax break they are getting," he said.
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These comments are different from when the governor was with the Google CEO in Midlothian last November. Google was announcing the development of two new data centers in Haskell and Armstrong counties.
"Google is now going to have a larger AI data center footprint, more so than any other state and as I understand it, more than any other country in the entire world. Texas will be the centerpiece for AI data centers for Google in the entire world," Abbott said at the time.
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By the numbers:
In June, the University of Texas’ Texas Politics Project polled voters about data centers.
About 56% of people polled said they opposed construction of data centers in their community. Only 29% supported it.
In recent months, council meetings in places like Fort Worth and Wilmer have been packed with residents speaking out against data centers.
What they're saying:
Rice University political analyst Mark Jones shared his thoughts on the heated topic.
"Well, it's a mixed issue. So, Texans actually like the benefits of data centers in terms of ChatGPT and their ability to do things online. On the other hand, it is a not-in-my-backyard situation where they don't want a data center very close to them. And also, as you get into rural areas, what is meant by close becomes essentially a broader definition and people are increasingly worried about data centers using water, using electricity, and creating noise without providing much in the way of jobs," Jone said.
Texas Gov. Abbott calls for regulations on data centers, contrasting previous stance
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday called for sweeping regulations on data centers to be passed by the legislature in the 2027 session. It's a change in stance for Abbott, who previously worked to make Texas the epicenter of the data center buildout.
Jones believes Abbott will push the legislature next year to pass new laws to give counties more power when it comes to data center contracts.
The Source: FOX 4's Steven Dial gathered information for this story using the governor's statements, past news coverage, a UT Texas Politics Project poll, and interviews with political analysts.