Overview
- JLL reports 6.5 GW of capacity under construction in Texas, part of a roughly 35 GW U.S. pipeline, with a majority of new builds shifting beyond traditional hubs.
- ERCOT projects Texas electricity demand will jump 71% by 2031, and data centers’ 2025 maximum load is about 8 GW versus a 94 GW grid peak.
- Big Tech companies including Amazon, Microsoft, Google, OpenAI and Meta are expected to spend more than $600 billion this year on AI infrastructure, accelerating data center growth.
- Water demands are mounting as the IEA estimates a 100 MW facility uses about 2 million liters daily, EESI cites up to 5 million gallons for very large sites, and HARC tallies 25 billion gallons used in Texas in 2025 with steep growth projected by 2030.
- Local reactions are intensifying with San Marcos rejecting a $1.5 billion campus, Hays County weighing a moratorium on water‑intensive projects, Round Rock approving a site, New Brunswick, N.J., killing a proposal, and President Trump urging data centers to fund their own grid costs.