Governor Greg Abbott announced that Bitdeer, CyrusOne, Ionic Digital and HIF committed to comply with statewide standards he established this summer for data center development.
Abbott directed the Public Utilities Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to enforce five requirements: data centers must pay for their own electric infrastructure, reuse their water, reduce electricity costs for consumers, avoid disrupting residential neighborhoods, and eliminate reliance on taxpayer-funded incentives and grants.
The agencies will audit each data center project before approval, reviewing plans for on-site power generation, water management, community impacts including noise and traffic, and financial assistance. "The PUCT and ERCOT cannot make decisions to guarantee grid stability and reliability based on substantially incomplete information," Abbott said.
Data centers that fail to comply with the audit process will have their approval denied. One data center operator chose to end its project rather than comply with the requirements, according to the announcement.