Governor Greg Abbott announced Aug. 12 that Google, Rowan and CleanSpark will comply with the statewide standards and guidelines he established for data center development, according to a news release from the governor’s office.
The announcement, one of two the governor’s office issued the same day naming companies that have agreed to the rules, extends a compliance push that the office said is being universally implemented by data centers across the state. One data center that could not comply chose to end operations before beginning construction, the release noted.
“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.”
The standards, announced earlier this summer, direct the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to make sure data centers pay for their own electric infrastructure rather than shifting costs to families and small businesses, reuse their own water, reduce electricity costs for Texans, avoid disrupting residential neighborhoods and operate without relying on taxpayer-funded incentives, according to the governor’s office.
The release said the two agencies will review detailed disclosures from each project, covering public financial assistance, projected electricity demand and on-site generation plans, water sourcing and reuse procedures, community protections such as noise mitigation, setbacks and traffic improvements, and the identity of project owners and controlling interests. That information must be received and audited before a 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. Companies that fail to comply with ERCOT’s audit process risk having their approvals denied, the office said.
With Google, Rowan and CleanSpark now on board, the governor’s office said data centers across Texas have either announced full compliance with the standards or announced the end of their projects since the directives were issued.