4 things to know about Texas' data center boom

The Lone Star State is rapidly becoming ground zero for the battle over AI data centers.

With what one county commissioner has called “limited regulations, limited enforcement [and] limited code,” Texas has seen a boom in proposed data centers, primarily in unzoned, unincorporated rural areas.

But residents in counties where data centers are being built have become more vocal in their opposition, particularly as projects are coming with little public input or legislative oversight.

On May 12, commissioners in Hill County, approximately 55 miles south of Fort Worth, voted 3-2 to approve a one-year pause on the construction of new data centers in unincorporated areas. The vote is believed to be the first by any Texas county to issue a moratorium on the rapid expansion of data centers across the state.

But this battle isn’t limited to just one county.

Here are four things you need to know about the standoff over data centers in Texas.

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1. What is a data center?

Data centers initially began as a physical space — ranging in size from a room to an entire facility — to house IT infrastructure for data storage and delivery of digital applications and services. Typically, data centers were based on secure, privately owned property for the exclusive use of a single company. 

Since the advent of virtualized IT infrastructure for the shared use of multiple companies and customers, however, data centers have evolved into the linchpin of facilities owned by cloud service providers (CSPs).

These ‘round-the-clock facilities are incredibly energy-intensive, with large data centers using the annual amount of energy equivalent to as many as 400,000 electric cars, according to data from the International Energy Agency.

In an op-ed published by The Christian Post on Wednesday, retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Robert Maginnis says Christians shouldn’t ignore the growing battle over AI data centers, arguing that the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure raises serious questions about stewardship, the impact on families and concentrated corporate power.

Maginnis points to a Gallup survey conducted in March that found "71% of Americans oppose AI data centers in their local area, including nearly half who strongly oppose them — a figure that now exceeds opposition to nuclear power plants."