SAN ANTONIO – Data centers that power everyday digital life are facing new scrutiny in Texas, where Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered state environmental regulators to pause permits for data centers until an audit is complete.
The order affects the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality as questions grow over how data centers use electricity, water and other infrastructure. The facilities support much of what people do online every day, including phone notifications, text messages, online banking, streaming video and social media posts.
Demand for data centers has surged as artificial intelligence and other digital technologies expand.
Ali Mehrizi-Sani, a professor with the Virginia Tech College of Engineering, said a recent Google report found a typical AI prompt uses about .24 watt-hours of electricity and five or six drops of water. While that may seem small, Mehrizi-Sani said the impact grows when multiplied by billions of daily uses.
One study projects AI data centers could consume 12% of U.S. electricity by 2030.
He noted, however, that some existing technologies, including air conditioning and cooling systems, already use comparable amounts of power.
Mehrizi-Sani said communities should ask questions about proposed data centers but should also weigh both the benefits and drawbacks.
“We can’t really assume that data center is necessarily a negative development or a positive development,” he said. “It really depends on the way that data centers are implemented, the types of investments that they are going to require and what changes in the infrastructure they would necessitate.”
Some advocates are pushing Abbott to call a special session so lawmakers can consider new regulations for data centers.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton also said he is investigating hundreds of Texas data centers over water-use reporting. That investigation is expected to continue at least through the end of the year.
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