Texas Governor Greg Abbott and California Governor Gavin Newsom just introduced new data center rules — and it's a big win for local communities

Texas Gov.

Abbott bans new data center grid connections until key audit is finished California Gov.

Newsom introduces new laws regulating data center land, energy, and water usage Federal regulations could also be coming soon, but the midterms are still to go AI data centers in the US have been dealt another blow due to new regulations and rules rolled out in Texas and California.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has expanded the reach of a de facto moratorium on new data centers until a new electricity audit has been completed, effectively preventing any new data centers from being granted environmental permits or grid permissions.

At the same time, California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed into law new regulations which provide communities with greater control over the water, electricity, and land use of data centers built in the state.

States are backing communities, not big tech “Simply put, Texans must come first,” Texas Governor Abbott said.

“Data centers must pay their own way, protect our grid and water, and complete the ERCOT and audits” (via Politico ).

According to ERCOT, which operates the Texas electricity grid, approvals for data centers to connect could be paused until December when the audit is expected to be completed.

Until then, no new connections will be authorized.

Texans have been increasingly vocal about their opinions on data centers, particularly when it comes to land use, noise, pollution, and strain on the electricity grid.

The issue has become such a big topic that Texas and other states have seen a jump in first-time candidates for local elections.

Abbott himself was previously pro-data center, advertising Texas as the “epicenter of AI development”, but has made a rapid pivot in stance - recently stating that data centers are getting “the backlash they deserve” .

In California, Governor Newsom’s new data center laws aim to move much of the costs imposed by data centers connecting to resources away from the public’s purse, and back onto data centers.

To this end, electrical grid connections and upgrade costs will be shouldered by the data centers requesting them, with additional requirements that new data centers will have to add new clean energy to supplement the additional energy they will consume.