Gov. Abbott says data centers cannot be approved until ERCOT, the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC), and the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) gather the information they need.

Republican Greg Abbott says datacenters must help ‘protect’ drought-prone state and disclose water use Greg Abbott, the Texas governor, has directed state regulators to penalize datacenters that fail to comply with state laws requiring them to disclose their water use. “Data centers must share the duty to protect Texas water,” the Republican governor said on Monday. “The Texas Water Code requires a complete and accurate water use survey. I direct the Texas Water Development Board to use its enforcement authority to penalize past failures and to impose legal consequences for any future failure to comply,” he added. Continue reading...

As more data centers are being built in Texas, the state’s water planning agency is warning that limited information is available about the booming industry and its impact on water supplies.

More than 70% of Texas data centers have failed to respond to a survey sent out by state regulators as they work to compile data on the resource-intensive facilities’ water and power usage, according to the state’s own numbers. The inquiry, conducted by the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) and Public Utility Commission of Texas […] The post Texas chose a ‘soft approach’ with data center survey. It was so soft it flopped. appeared first on San Antonio Current.