Greg Abbott calls for ban on AI data centers in rural Texas amid growing community backlash

Gov. Greg Abbott calls for ban on data center development in rural Texas neighborhoods

Gov. Greg Abbott called for blocking new data center development in rural parts of the state during a campaign stop in East Texas on Tuesday. "We must prohibit them from building AI data centers in rural Texas neighborhoods," Abbott said at the Bullard event, which primarily discussed his plan to cut property taxes, adding that this issue "dovetails right into fighting for East Texas values." Abbott's push for a prohibition in rural neighborhoods appears to go further than a sweeping regulatory framework he unveiled earlier this month, which called for data centers to add new power generation to the grid, pay for their own infrastructure costs, reuse their own water and implement measures such as setbacks, among other proposals aimed at limiting their impact on residential communities. In a statement, Abbott campaign spokesperson Eduardo Leal said, "everything the Governor said today tracks with his June 10th letter." "As the Governor said in the letter, he will work with lawmakers to ensure local communities are not adversely impacted," Leal added. Abbott reiterated his support on Tuesday for the measures laid out in his earlier announcement. "I made clear already: Any AI data center even thinking about coming here -- they got to bring their own money, bring their own power, reuse their own water and do it in a way that reduces the cost of electricity for residents across our state," he said. "We must eliminate the tax break they are getting. They must be responsible for funding their own projects here in Texas. We will get that done." In outlining his regulatory recommendations this month, Abbott instructed the Public Utility Commission to "guarantee any data center development does not come at the cost of Texans and our local communities" and to consider how to "minimize adverse impacts on local communities." The third-term Republican governor had previously been enthusiastic about the influx of companies seeking to build the facilities, calling Texas "the epicenter of AI development" when he announced in November that Google had made a $40 billion investment in cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure in the state. Abbott has received over $2 million from people and companies linked to the tech and AI industries since last year, E&E News by Politico reported in April. His call for a ban in rural neighborhoods Tuesday comes as many rural counties and activists have attempted to pass moratoriums and called for the Legislature to grant them greater local control to prevent the construction of the centers. Opponents argue that the oftentimes gigantic operations will put their water availability and air quality at risk and threaten to hike their power bills. The Data Center Coalition, a trade group for the industry, did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but it has argued that its members are providing a critical service that the digital world depends upon, bringing immense property tax benefits and helping the U.S. win the AI war over foreign adversaries. The group has also pointed to technological advancements that reduce the facilities' water needs. A Texas Tribune analysis earlier this month found that nearly half of planned data centers in the state are set to be built in unincorporated areas not governed by cities or towns, up from 12% now. Public polling has shown that data centers are extremely unpopular amongst all Texans and especially those living in rural areas, nearly two-thirds of which opposed construction of the facilities in their community, according to a recent University of Texas/Texas Politics Project poll. The majority of facilities planned or under construction are in state House districts that voted for President Donald Trump and elected a Republican state representative in 2024, the Tribune analysis found, creating a political conundrum for top GOP leadership. Several counties have considered moratoriums. Hill County was the first, but leaders quickly reversed course after getting hit with a $100 million lawsuit by a data center developer. Meanwhile, cities, which unlike counties have broad zoning power, are passing new regulations that attempt to keep the large industrial facilities out, and the city of San Marcos recently became the first to outright ban them. A Texas lawmaker has already said he plans to challenge the ban. ___ Disclosure: Google has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here. ___ This story was originally published by The Texas Tribune and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.

"We must prohibit them" says Governor Abbott about building AI data centers in rural Texas neighborhoods

Jack Fink covers politics for KTVT-TV CBS 11 and has been with the station since September 2003. After calling for more regulations on data centers in Texas last month, Governor Greg Abbott has taken a step further and said AI data centers shouldn't be built in rural Texas neighborhoods. His comments came during a re-election campaign rally in Bullard, Texas, near Tyler on Tuesday. Data centers and AI data centers have become very unpopular among many Democrats and Republicans, particularly in rural Texas. Abbott said he's aligned with East Texas values. "Pushing back against these AI data centers that are trying to build in our neighborhoods," he said. "I made clear already any AI data center even thinking about coming here, they got 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," the governor continued. "We must prohibit them from building AI datacenters in rural Texas, neighborhoods, and we must eliminate the tax break they are getting. They must be responsible for funding their own projects in Texas. We will get that done." Abbott spoke days after the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, State Representative Gina Hinojosa of Austin, blasted him on the issue. During the Texas Democratic Party convention, she told supporters, "Greg Abbott built the biggest data center giveaway in the whole country. The richest men in the world, his donors, are running up your electric bill, guzzling up your water, while you pay for it. Now that I am running against him, he wants us all to forget that he sold the farm for cheap in a fire sale. Nobody believes the arsonist will put out the fire." The governor wants lawmakers to pass his proposed regulations into law and revoke the state's sales tax incentives for data center developers during the next legislative session beginning in January. The Texas Tribune previously reported that those sales tax incentives have amounted to billions of dollars. The outlet said, according to the Texas Comptroller's Office, state taxpayers have granted nearly $2.8 billion in sales tax breaks to data centers between 2014 and this year. Because of the number of proposed projects, data center incentives are forecast to reach $3.2 billion over the next two years alone. Watch Eye On Politics at 7:30 Sunday morning on CBS News Texas on air and streaming Follow Jack on X & Instagram: @cbs11jack

Gov. Greg Abbott Calls for Ban on Data Center Development in Rural Texas Neighborhoods

Gov. Greg Abbott called for blocking new data center development in rural parts of the state during a campaign stop in East Texas on Tuesday. "We must prohibit them from building AI data centers in rural Texas neighborhoods," Abbott said at the Bullard event, which primarily discussed his plan to cut property taxes, adding that this issue "dovetails right into fighting for East Texas values." Abbott's push for a prohibition in rural neighborhoods appears to go further than a sweeping regulatory framework he unveiled earlier this month, which called for data centers to add new power generation to the grid, pay for their own infrastructure costs, reuse their own water and implement measures such as setbacks, among other proposals aimed at limiting their impact on residential communities. In a statement, Abbott campaign spokesperson Eduardo Leal said, "everything the Governor said today tracks with his June 10th letter." "As the Governor said in the letter, he will work with lawmakers to ensure local communities are not adversely impacted," Leal added. Abbott reiterated his support on Tuesday for the measures laid out in his earlier announcement. "I made clear already: Any AI data center even thinking about coming here -- they got to bring their own money, bring their own power, reuse their own water and do it in a way that reduces the cost of electricity for residents across our state," he said. "We must eliminate the tax break they are getting. They must be responsible for funding their own projects here in Texas. We will get that done." In outlining his regulatory recommendations this month, Abbott instructed the Public Utility Commission to "guarantee any data center development does not come at the cost of Texans and our local communities" and to consider how to "minimize adverse impacts on local communities." The third-term Republican governor had previously been enthusiastic about the influx of companies seeking to build the facilities, calling Texas "the epicenter of AI development" when he announced in November that Google had made a $40 billion investment in cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure in the state. Abbott has received over $2 million from people and companies linked to the tech and AI industries since last year, E&E News by Politico reported in April. His call for a ban in rural neighborhoods Tuesday comes as many rural counties and activists have attempted to pass moratoriums and called for the Legislature to grant them greater local control to prevent the construction of the centers. Opponents argue that the oftentimes gigantic operations will put their water availability and air quality at risk and threaten to hike their power bills. The Data Center Coalition, a trade group for the industry, did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but it has argued that its members are providing a critical service that the digital world depends upon, bringing immense property tax benefits and helping the U.S. win the AI war over foreign adversaries. The group has also pointed to technological advancements that reduce the facilities' water needs. A Texas Tribune analysis earlier this month found that nearly half of planned data centers in the state are set to be built in unincorporated areas not governed by cities or towns, up from 12% now. Public polling has shown that data centers are extremely unpopular amongst all Texans and especially those living in rural areas, nearly two-thirds of which opposed construction of the facilities in their community, according to a recent University of Texas/Texas Politics Project poll. The majority of facilities planned or under construction are in state House districts that voted for President Donald Trump and elected a Republican state representative in 2024, the Tribune analysis found, creating a political conundrum for top GOP leadership. Several counties have considered moratoriums. Hill County was the first, but leaders quickly reversed course after getting hit with a $100 million lawsuit by a data center developer. Meanwhile, cities, which unlike counties have broad zoning power, are passing new regulations that attempt to keep the large industrial facilities out, and the city of San Marcos recently became the first to outright ban them. A Texas lawmaker has already said he plans to challenge the ban. ___ Disclosure: Google has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here. ___ This story was originally published by The Texas Tribune and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.