Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered a halt to approvals for new data-center projects through the state grid interconnection process, citing concerns that a surge in power demand could threaten grid reliability. In a Monday letter to the Texas Public Utility Commission and ERCOT he directed an audit of all planned grid-connected data centers before any new projects may proceed. Industry forecasts project Texas could become the world’s largest data-center hub and possibly overtake Virginia by 2030;

Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered a halt to approvals for new data-center projects through the state grid interconnection process, citing concerns that a surge in power demand could threaten grid reliability. In a Monday letter to the Texas Public Utility Commission and ERCOT he directed an audit of all planned grid-connected data centers before any new projects may proceed. Industry forecasts project Texas could become the world’s largest data-center hub and possibly overtake Virginia by 2030; local opposition is rising over heavy electricity and water use and pollution from on-site power generation. New York last month became the first U.S. state to pause large data-center construction.