Texas data center boom faces halt after Democratic midterm wins
Projects such as Stargate Frontier and Nexus Hubbard now depend on a state policy that has yet to be settled.
Texas, long the easiest place to build large data centers, may lose that status after Democrats won the governor's race, the Senate seat and control of the state House in the November midterms. Following a September 21 directive from Governor Greg Abbott to a state regulator to halt data center permits, developers reported that the governor's office had gone silent on their inquiries. Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa, who backed data center tax breaks in 2023, has since pushed for a full moratorium on new facilities. Major projects are at stake, including the 1,820-megawatt Stargate Frontier site in Shackelford County and the 6,400-megawatt Nexus Hubbard facility, mostly meant for Anthropic. Local governments, county officials and construction unions could still resist sweeping state-level restrictions, so turning the campaign opposition into policy may prove harder than the campaign promised.
Why it matters
Texas has been the fastest-growing data center market in the US, so a pause on new permits would change where large AI infrastructure gets built and how quickly. The governor's directive to halt permits and the incoming governor's push for a full moratorium mean developers face uncertainty about whether approvals will continue. Local governments and construction unions could still limit any statewide restriction, so the outcome is far from certain.
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