Go to the KSAT homepage

Several City Council members and concerned residents want to hit pause on the future development of data centers in San Antonio, at least for now.

Gov. Greg Abbott ordered a statewide audit of data centers Monday, directing regulators to review every project seeking to connect to the Texas power grid before it can move forward. But the state’s top agriculture official says the move is more politics than policy — and residents in Guadalupe County say they’re not convinced it changes anything for them.

As data centers rapidly expand across South Texas, KSAT Investigates learned the public cannot find out how much water San Antonio-area data centers are using because of a Texas law that its author says is being interpreted far more broadly than intended.

Data centers remain a flashpoint around San Antonio after residents previously pushed back on projects planned for the far Northwest Side of Bexar County. Now, people in Guadalupe County are raising similar concerns, protesting what they say is a lack of transparency from county leaders as two data center projects move forward near their homes.

Some West Side neighbors said nearby data center facilities are not noticeable while others described them as "loud."

Kaesha Avishai and other Angelina County residents are worried about what the data center's arrival means for their property and their way of life.

At least 248 data centers are planned to be built in Texas. Of those, nearly half will be built in unincorporated areas, where county officials are limited in their ability to regulate development, according to a Texas Tribune analysis.

Lacy Lakeview, a Waco suburb, said it is considering a data center project in efforts to boost their spending power to repair aging roads.

Lacy Lakeview’s hasty approach to the data center project has alienated the Waco officials who would control water service to the site. “Without the City of Waco agreeing to it, Lacy Lakeview can’t do anything out there and neither can Infrakey," State Rep. Pat Curry said. "Those guys don’t know what the hell they’re doing.”

Hill County commissioners’ split vote to issue a moratorium appears to be a first in Texas.

Data center construction is unpopular among locals, and a majority of the facilities are being proposed in red, rural counties. That puts Texas Republicans in a tough spot, as the White House has encouraged states to let the centers flourish.

As Texas lawmakers prepare to tackle the thorny data center issue next session, what can we learn from Virginia's experience?

Meta’s planned data center could be El Paso’s biggest electricity user. Some residents worry that a new power plant to run it would worsen air pollution and guzzle water.

As artificial intelligence pushes demand for more data centers, companies are drawn to the state’s relatively inexpensive land and natural gas that can run on-site power plants.

ERCOT is making a first attempt at a planning process in which multiple requests will be considered simultaneously.

A Council Consideration Request (CCR) that would determine regulatory measures needed to address the rapid growth of data centers in San Antonio will proceed to a special committee.

The project is at a scale of industrial development and investment unmatched in McLennan County’s history: acres of computer hardware, substations and a 1.2-gigawatt gas-fired plant capable of powering about 300,000 homes.

The announcement by Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai is the latest multi-billion dollar investment in Texas by tech companies racing to build infrastructure that can support advanced artificial intelligence.