Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott has said that new data centres in the state will have to comply with regulations before building begins.
The directive, announced on Monday evening, is sure to cause concern in conservative Texas, where politicians routinely highlight the importance of cutting bureacracy, being business-friendly and leading the artificial intelligence boom.
Under the Texas directive, data centre developers must inform the state about how much financial assistance they might need for construction, estimated electricity and water use, lowering noise, light controls and ownership details.
“Our top priority is to protect Texans’ safety and quality of life,” Mr Abbott said. “Any project that fails to comply with the requirements set forth by the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), and by state law, must be denied connection to the Texas grid.
"Simply put, Texans must come first.”
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas warned this week that by 2032, the demand placed on the state's energy grid was projected to double. The state's grid has been under increased strain in recent years, with a growing population, extreme weather and cryptocurrency mining operations, in addition to data centres.
Mr Abbott's order shows how much opposition to data centres has grown over the year throughout the US, where polls show voters are increasingly concerned about environmental effects, noise and possible increases in residential electricity costs.
The unprecedented investment and use of AI has spurred a push from Big Tech and energy companies to build more data centres, but that has placed more strain on the US energy grid. It has also caused electricity prices to rise sharply in many parts of the country.
Texas's comprehensive data centre audit follows the recent decision from Democratic New York Governor Kathy Hochul to put a one-year moratorium on building data centres.
That has been heavily criticised by US President Donald Trump, who campaigned on taking a less regulatory approach to AI.
But even Mr Trump has adjusted his approach in recent months, calling on data centre companies and Big Tech firms to commit to providing their own electricity and not taking as much from the grid.
According to the Pew Research Centre, Texas trails only Virginia when it comes to the number of existing and planned data centres. Virginia has 398 data centres operating, while Texas has 296.
State legislators in Delaware, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Vermont have also introduced legislation to try to slow or stop data centre construction, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Polling firm Gallup said seven in 10 Americans were against data centres being built near their homes.
A similar survey by the Yale Programme on Climate Change indicated that 60 per cent of registered US voters believe a data centre in their area would raise their electricity costs.
Proponents of data centres say concerns are overblown. During a recent speech in Washington, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told an audience of technology experts and business leaders that there were many misconceptions.
“They've just heard one side of the story, and if you can honestly and candidly and sincerely engage with people, just short conversations, they look in your eyes, they can tell you're an honest person, that's how you change hearts and minds,” he said.
