GARLAND, TEXAS - MARCH 4: Construction workers wire electricity lines in Dallas TX4 data center's mechanical galley under construction at the NTT Data center campus in Garland, Texas, March 4, 2026. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News via Getty Images)
U.S. Rep. Chip Roy filed legislation Friday that would require the Department of Energy to track and report water and energy used by big data centers that received expedited permitting under an executive order.
UNITED STATES - MAY 13: Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, leaves the House Republican Conference caucus meeting at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington on Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
The Public Oversight of Water and energy Reporting Act would mandate a federal report to Congress tracking resource consumption of data centers qualifying for benefits under Executive Order 14318. The Trump administration executive order allows for AI data centers that require more than 100 megawatts of electrical load to apply for accelerated federal permitting.
What they're saying:
"As data centers spring up across the country, we need to be mindful of our water and energy resources. States like Texas have been enduring extreme drought conditions, and as we build out energy intensive data center infrastructure, we must have a clear picture of how much water and energy these projects are consuming. The Public Oversight of Water and Energy Reporting (POWER) Act ensures the Department of Energy collects an honest accounting of exactly how much water and energy these projects will use," Roy said.
Within two years of the bill's passage, the DOE and Environmental Protection Agency must report water consumption by the covered data centers that use public water sources. For centers that use a closed-loop system that recycles water, the report must include the total water provided during that period.
For data centers that continuously pull fresh water from public supply, the report would calculate the average daily water consumption.
The reporting would also track which data centers are able to power themselves and which ones require a connection to the public electic grid.
For those that draw power from the grid, the DOE must report the costs of connecting to the grid and how those costs were paid, either by the data center owner, federal subsidies or others on that grid.
Report claims Texas is most ready state for data centers
A report by Labrynth states Texas is the state most prepared for new data centers.
According to the report, the Lone Star State scores high in time to connect to the grid, available energy and available workforce.
Its lowest scores come from the grid itself, permitting and water availability.
Research from the University of Texas at Austin suggests that data centers could use up to 9% of the state's water supply by 2040. Water consumption from data centers in the state currently sits around 1%.
Texas water supply: Data centers could make up 9% of demand by 2040, paper finds
Up to 9% of Texas' water supply could be used by data centers alone as early as 2040, a newly released paper from the University of Texas at Austin says.
Both Roy's legislation and the readiness report come at a time when some communities in Texas are fighting back against data centers moving into their communities.
Data Center Coalition responds to growing backlash in Texas
The construction of data centers is a growing political issue in Central Texas and across the state.
Earlier this month, the city of Red Oak voted to rezone an 800-acre section of agricultural land for a data center project despite protests from the community. Just days later, Hill County voted to impose a moratorium on data center projects.
The Source: Information in this article comes from a release from Rep. Chip Roy a report from Labrynth and previous FOX Local reporting.