Texas Governor Abbott ordered a pause on new data center approvals and directed audits of existing facilities, effectively freezing 20% of US pipeline capacity.

Texas' data center moratorium poses significant risks to the nation's energy infrastructure expansion. Bloomberg NEF estimates the pause could affect roughly 20% of the US pipeline, with the financial implications potentially reaching into the billions. The energy research firm is forecasting approximately 1.2 GW of total ERCOT data center additions between the second quarter of this year and the first quarter of 2027. Any delays in energization during this critical period could put billions of dollars of data center leasing revenue at risk, as AI computing capacity can earn around $1.76 billion per gigawatt per month.

The scope of the proposed buildout underscores why such delays matter. ERCOT's interconnection queue contains about 474 GW of total requests, with approximately 90 percent representing new data center power requests. The queue now exceeds five times ERCOT's peak demand record, highlighting both the scale of the buildout and the potential for duplicative or excessive interconnection requests. More than 70 percent of the approximately 50 GW of Texas data center projects that BNEF is tracking remain in the early stage.

BNEF expects about 8.25 GW of additional data center capacity to come online in ERCOT through 2030, bringing the total to more than 17 GW. The firm notes this 2030 forecast "could be revised significantly higher" if ERCOT's initial study of large load projects, known as Batch Zero, proceeds as planned—though the new audit could create delays that derail those timelines.

Governor Abbott's audit will examine three critical areas: whether data centers are providing their own power or depending on the grid; their use of water; and which projects are utilizing state or federal assistance such as tax incentives, grants, or abatements. "Any data center project that fails to comply with the verification and audit process to protect the reliability and resilience of the Texas electric grid must be denied," Abbott stated in his letter calling for the review.

Texas follows New York, which in July halted new data center approvals for up to a year while the state creates new development rules.