Texas data-center opposition unites groups ahead of midterms
A coalition spanning political lines is challenging data-center expansion as new modeling shows how power choices could affect Texas air pollution.
The Texas NAACP has joined dozens of groups across the political spectrum in We the People Texas, a coalition seeking to stop or slow data-center construction ahead of the midterm elections, The Verge reported on October 28. The alliance brings together objections over water use, tax subsidies and the power infrastructure needed for expanding facilities.
Gary Bledsoe, the Texas NAACP president, estimated that the coalition represents as many as 1 million voters statewide. That is his estimate of its reach, rather than a verified membership count. The Verge also cited an August poll in which 57% of Texans opposed data-center construction, including 43% of Republicans, 75% of Democrats and 54% of independents.
Where Texas data-center plans face opposition
The opposition has taken different forms locally. The Verge reported a dispute over plans for a data center on a site intended to be a park in Taylor, recall attempts against the mayor and council members in Temple over data-center developments, and a ban on data centers in San Marcos. In the Texoma area near Oklahoma, residents delayed a proposed project after a county commissioners’ meeting, according to The Verge’s account attributed to Jet Parker. Save Rural Texas formed after that meeting.
The coalition’s concerns extend beyond the buildings themselves. The Verge reported objections to new gas plants and wind farms intended to serve rising electricity demand. Data centers also use water for cooling, while electricity generation contributes to their wider water footprint. Bledsoe raised concerns about air pollution for communities near new gas plants.
How power choices could affect air pollution
An October 20 assessment by the Houston Advanced Research Center modeled four ways to supply power under three projections of Texas data-center demand. In its projected grid-mix scenario, the center found that nitrogen oxide emissions from the state’s power and industrial sectors could rise 136% by 2031. Volatile organic compound emissions could exceed their 2002 volume by 32%, while fine-particle emissions could return to their 2006 volume.
The modeled results vary sharply with the power supply. The center found nitrogen oxide emissions from data-center power generation could be two to ten times higher if all new demand were met with combustion instead of grid supply paired with solar and wind, depending on the demand projection. Even its cleanest modeled configuration increased pollutants above a baseline without new data-center demand. Actual construction and power choices will determine which, if any, of its scenarios resembles the outcome.
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Sources and context
- Voters in Texas agree: They hate data centersThe Verge
- Texas Data Centers and Air Quality: An Assessment of Potential ImpactsHouston Advanced Research Center (HARC)
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.