The number of data centers has been growing and so has the anger among Texans who don't want them in their neighborhoods, so Governor Greg Abbott is pointing out that he's put a hold on building new ones.
The centers have been popping up all over the state and all over America -- and all over the world -- but in some states such as Texas there is real concern about how much water and electricity the centers use and worry that there won't be enough power and clean water for residents.
Governor Abbott said Sunday the time to stop building new data centers is now because "they have not been working with the state and they have not been working in collaboration with local governments, so they basically dug their own graves for the problems that have been caused by them and that's why they got the backlash they deserve," he told ABC's "This Week."
He's ordered the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to audit all the applications that have been submitted to see if they're meeting the standards and practices required for building and operating the centers, the largest of which are called "hyperscalers."
Recent responses from Texas regulators say it will take until December for the two agencies to complete such an audit, perhaps longer, so no new permits to build data centers will be issued until at least the end of the year.
The public backlash against data centers has become an issue nationwide and with the midterm elections upon us, Democrats have said they intend to use the recent growth of data centers their resulting unpopularity against Republicans over the coming days and years, especially because President Donald Trump continues to defend them.
