A proposed East Texas data center will not move forward after the developer said, after hearing from residents and officials, the site did not meet its standards for development.
Diode Ventures was eyeing a location in Henderson County, near Cedar Creek Lake, for development of a data center.
What they're saying:
"We appreciate recent conversations with Governor Abbott’s staff, State Representative Cody Harris, County Commissioner Wendy Spivey, and Henderson County leadership, as Diode evaluated a potential data center site near Cedar Creek Lake," Diode co-presidents Rachel Attebery and Josh Johnson said in a letter to Henderson County commissioners. The perspectives shared by residents, local leaders and stakeholders led us to conclude that the site under evaluation, in particular its close proximity to the rural residential community of Cedar Creek Lake, does not meet the higher standard we believe should guide data center development."
In a statement, Gov. Greg Abbott said the project did not meet the expectations laid out in the governor's directive in June.
"Data centers that want to do business in Texas must meet a clear standard. This project did not," Abbott said. "Texas requires companies to put communities first, protect our natural resources and power grid, and respect the quality of life of our residents. Diode did the right thing by withdrawing their project. If other data center developments refuse to meet these standards, I expect them to do the same."
Henderson County Commissioner Wendy Spivey applauded Diode's decision to cancel the project, while calling the decision a result of the community coming together.
"This was not the outcome of one person or one elected official. It was the result of a community that became informed, got involved, and respectfully made its voice heard," Spivey said on social media. "From the very beginning, my position has been consistent: while Texas will continue to need infrastructure to support growth, this proposed location—surrounded by homes, families, and the Cedar Creek Lake community—was not an appropriate place for a project of this scale."
Abbott calls for prohibition of data centers in rural neighborhoods
The backstory:
Earlier this month, Abbott called for a prohibition on building data centers near rural Texas neighborhoods.
"Pushing back on these AI data centers that are trying to build in our neighborhoods. I’ve made it clear already, any AI data center thinking about coming here, they have to bring their own money, bring their own power, use their own water, and do it in a way that reduces the cost of electricity for residents across our state. We must prohibit them from building AI data centers in rural Texas neighborhoods. We must eliminate the tax break they are getting," he said at a campaign stop earlier this month.
The comments were a seeming about-face from the governor, who last year said Texas would be the "centerpiece for AI data centers."
By the numbers:
In June, the University of Texas’ Texas Politics Project polled voters about data centers.
About 56% of people polled said they opposed construction of data centers in their community. Only 29% supported it.
Abbott calls for sweeping data center regulations
Big picture view:
On June 10, Abbott called for sweeping regulations on data centers to be passed by the state legislature in the next session.
In a letter to the Public Utilities Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Abbot laid out his ideas to hold data centers accountable and ensure the costs of their growth are not passed on to taxpayers.
Abbott wants to prohibit building of data centers in rural Texas neighborhoods
Gov. Greg Abbott called for a ban on data center development in rural Texas neighborhoods during a campaign stop Tuesday night.
Abbott called for new centers to add power generation to the state's power grid while paying for their own infrastructure costs and connection to the grid. The letter also calls for the mandated use of closed-loop water systems and annual reporting on electricity and water use by data centers.
The governor is also calling on lawmakers to repeal sales tax exemptions and "other outdated or unnecessary incentives" for data centers. Data centers would also be required to consider the communities by reducing their impact through measures such as reducing noise.
The Source: Information in this article comes from Gov. Greg Abbott's office and Henderson County Commissioner Wendy Spivey. Backstory on Abbott's stance on data centers comes from previous FOX Local reporting.