Abbott’s data center moratorium stirs mixed reactions in Texas

Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) on Monday placed a moratorium on new data center development in Texas, sparking a variety of reactions in the Lone Star state.

Abbott said he was halting approvals for new data center projects until the state’s Public Utility Commission and Electric Reliability Council complete an audit on all data centers wanting to connect to the state’s power grid. ERCOT is considering approximately 474 gigawatts of requests to connect to the Texas grid, more than five times the state’s record peak electricity demand for ERCOT, Abbott wrote in a letter to the regulators, adding that around 90% of the new power requests are from data centers.