Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) on Tuesday said he backed a ban on building data centers in rural Texas neighborhoods, as debate grows about their place in the state. 

Abbott has long toed the line between supporting data center expansion, calling Texas the “epicenter” of artificial intelligence, and pressing for regulation that requires developers to assume the weight of growth. During an event this week in Bullard, a town about 110 miles southeast of Dallas, he said “fighting for East Texas values” meant “pushing back against these AI data centers that are trying to build in our neighborhoods.”