Gov. Greg Abbott ordered Texas environmental regulators to halt new data center permit approvals while state agencies audit the industry, putting new uncertainty around what had been a rapidly expanding data center market. Abbott directed the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to pause dat a center permit approvals until audits involving the Public Utility Commission of Texas, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, and the Texas Water Development Board are complete. “This action is consistent with my whole-of-government approach to ensure Texans’ natural resources and way of life are protected.” Abbott wrote in a statement. The decision marks a change in approach from Abbott, who 10 months ago said he wanted Texas to be the “epicenter of AI development” during a Google data center investment event. Texas had been on track to surpass Virginia as the largest data center market in the world. Now, the industry’s growth in the state faces new questions. The shift also comes amid voter opposition to data centers. According to an NBC 5 Dallas and Telemundo survey released this week, 27% of respondents supported AI data centers being built in their communities, while 63% were opposed and 10% were undecided. “Work with us, put those guardrails in place, regulate us, but don’t ban us,” Dan Diorio with the Data Center Coalition said. The Data Center Coalition represents major hyperscale companies, including Google, Meta and Microsoft. The group argues those companies are cooperating with the state while other, smaller operators are contributing to the public backlash. “We understand we want to make sure that the good projects are moving forward, but we have to work through it efficiently and ensure that billions of dollars in capital aren’t stranded in the state of Texas,” Diorio said. Diorio said he fears Texas could lose billions of dollars in investment and thousands of jobs. Texas lawmakers are expected to examine the issue further after the midterm elections when they return to Austin in January. This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC DFW. AI tools helped convert the story into a digital article, and an NBC DFW journalist edited it again before publication. ...read more read less