Gov. Greg Abbott announced Aug. 10 that OpenAI will comply with the statewide standards and guidelines he established for data centers, according to a news release from the governor’s office.
The commitment adds one of the world’s most prominent artificial intelligence companies to the roster of operators agreeing to meet the standards Abbott set earlier this summer, which the governor’s office said are designed to ensure data center development does not come at the expense of Texas families or communities.
“I established clear guardrails to ensure data centers protect our electric grid, conserve our water, respect our neighborhoods, and pay their own way,” Abbott said in the release. “They must not pass costs on to Texas families or interfere with their quality of life.”
Under the directives, the governor instructed the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to ensure data centers pay for their electric infrastructure instead of shifting costs onto Texas families and small businesses, reuse their own water, reduce the cost of electricity for Texans, avoid disrupting residential neighborhoods, and pay their own way without relying on what the release called outdated taxpayer-funded incentives.
The two agencies will also examine how each project intends to disclose all taxpayer-funded incentives, grants and abatements; provide its own power by detailing projected electricity demand and plans for on-site generation; protect water resources by identifying water sources, projected use, reuse procedures and water-efficient cooling technologies; reduce impacts on neighbors through noise mitigation, light controls, setbacks, traffic improvements and emergency response coordination; and provide full transparency by disclosing project ownership and controlling interests, according to the release. The PUCT and ERCOT must receive and audit that information before a data center project can move forward.
“The PUCT and ERCOT cannot make decisions to guarantee grid stability and reliability based on substantially incomplete information,” Abbott said in the release.
Any data center company that fails to comply with ERCOT’s audit process is subject to having its approval denied, the governor’s office said. Since the directives were issued, the office noted, data centers across the state have either announced full compliance or announced they are ending their data center projects.