Why Texas Is Making Data Centers Wait

kept by eddie oct 08

Texas halted new data‑center permits amid a flood of speculative filings, grid‑reliability worries, and disputes over who should pay for costly transmission upgrades needed to support AI‑driven load.

New Amazon Data Center Stokes Worry It Would Be the Most Polluting Power Plant in the U.S.
Amazon is investing in a large natural-gas power plant in Texas to support a new AI data center, raising concerns it could become the most polluting power plant in the U.S.
also on Texas, #energy, Amazon
America's Electricity Gap - by Joseph Politano
Record US solar and battery investment is still insufficient to close a growing electricity gap driven by AI, manufacturing, and electrification, leading to rising prices and slower coal plant retirements.
also on ERCOT, #energy, #infrastructure
Why American data centers can't plug in
The AI buildout is bottlenecked by the slow grid interconnection process, not a power generation shortage, requiring reforms to connect data centers faster.
also on ERCOT
OpenAI Stargate: where the US sites stand
OpenAI's $500 billion Stargate project has seven US sites under construction totaling over 9 GW, with 0.3 GW already operational in Abilene, Texas.
also on #energy, #infrastructure
Exclusive | A New Threat to Power Grids: Data Centers Unplugging at Once - WSJ
Two incidents in 2024 and 2025 saw clusters of Virginia data centers simultaneously switch to backup power, forcing grid operators into emergency balancing actions.
also on #energy, #infrastructure