Greg Abbott
Governor of Texas; ordered a full audit of every data-centre project in ERCOT's queue.
On 21 September, Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered the state environmental regulator to halt every new and pending data-centre permit.
Last refreshed: 24 September 2026 · Appears in 2 active topics
Why did Governor Abbott order every Texas data centre in ERCOT's queue audited?
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Data Centres: Boom and Backlash: Abbott halts Texas data centre permitsDirected PUCT and ERCOT to audit every data centre in the Texas interconnection queue
Data Centres: Boom and Backlash: Abbott orders a full data centre auditBackground
Greg Abbott is Governor of Texas. The office is relevant to data-centre development because Abbott can direct state action through bodies responsible for grid connections and environmental permits.
His public record in this area centres on scrutiny of proposed projects' resource demands. On 3 August, his audit order covered ownership, public incentives, water and power use, and community impact. Abbott also said projects that failed Texas's existing water and power usage survey should be denied grid access.
That approach makes Abbott a consequential state-level actor where large data-centre proposals depend on public infrastructure and regulatory approval.
Abbott freezes data-centre permits
On 3 August, Abbott ordered Texas's two grid regulators to audit every data-centre project seeking a grid connection. The audit covered ownership, incentives, and water and power use.
On 21 September, Abbott extended that scrutiny by ordering the state's environmental regulator to halt every new and pending data-centre permit. Developers must show they can pay for the grid and water they need. The orders place Abbott's office at the centre of Texas's response to a 438-gigawatt connection queue, about 90% of it linked to data centres.
