Texas

Energy/Power: dominant stressor. The debate centers on grid capacity, interconnection costs, large-load curtailment, and the risk of stranded transmission costs under SB 6 and ERCOT planning (GT Law, POLITICO). Water/Geology: close second. Local fights in Hood County, San Marcos, and other counties repeatedly cite aquifer, river, and cooling-water impacts, and state lawmakers are now reviewing data-center water use (The Texas Tribune, Texas Tribune).

None identified. Data centers are becoming a political issue in Texas generally, but I did not find a 2026 federal, statewide, or local race with a clearly defined data-center-specific contest and named candidates as of May 2026. The issue is instead surfacing in legislative hearings, county fights, and party messaging (The Texas Tribune, POLITICO).

No statewide moratorium, ban, or pause on data centers has been enacted in Texas as of May 2026. The clearest local moratorium effort was Hood County’s six-month pause on new industrial development, including data centers, which failed 3–2 twice in February 2026 after legal warnings from state Sen. Paul Bettencourt and a pending AG-authorization dispute (The Texas Tribune, KERA). Texas lawmakers are also studying whether counties and cities should have more authority to regulate or pause large projects, but the state position remains pro-development with regulatory guardrails rather than a freeze (The Texas Tribune).

Texas SB 6 is the central cost-allocation law for large loads. It required the Public Utility Commission to establish interconnection standards for new loads of 75 MW+ and to ensure large-load customers contribute to interconnection and infrastructure costs, with draft rules published in March 2026 imposing study fees, $50,000/MW financial security, non-refundable interconnection fees, upfront direct-cost payment, and rules addressing stranded costs and curtailment (GT Law). Separately, the Legislature is actively reviewing the state sales-tax exemption for qualifying data centers after the Comptroller projected roughly $3.2 billion in forgone revenue over the next two years; Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Sen. Joan Huffman have signaled possible repeal, narrowing, or safeguards, but no repeal has been enacted yet (The Texas Tribune, Texas Comptroller).

None identified. Ballotpedia’s 2026 data-center ballot-measure roundup lists measures in California, Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin, but not Texas (Ballotpedia).

1) Comanche Circle / Sailfish Development, Hood County near Tolar — proposed multi-campus project with up to 5 GW buildout; contested in local moratorium fights and public hearings, status: proposed/contested (The Texas Tribune). 2) San Marcos $1.5 billion data center proposal — city council rejected rezoning amid river and grid concerns, status: effectively cancelled/rejected (Public Citizen). 3) Brazoria County / Old Ocean Datacenter — Nightpeak Energy proposal with an accompanying 310-MW gas plant and a requested $10.5 million tax abatement; county refused the reinvestment-zone designation, status: stalled/blocked (Public Citizen).

Public Citizen; Food & Water Watch; Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance; Texas Coalition Against Datacenters; local county/city grassroots groups in Hood County, Hays County, San Marcos, Brazoria County, and College Station (Public Citizen, Texas Public Radio).

Inclusion criteria satisfied: Construction labor + jobs-promised. SB 6 implementation labor implications; Hood County and San Marcos construction trades posture; Comanche Circle / Sailfish trades record. Primary-source verification pending — full content in v1.2. Sub-state and labor-market analysis available in the full RAIL briefing.

Major hub. Texas already has more than 300 operating data centers and more than 100 additional projects planned or under development; one Tribune estimate said there are at least 142 more under construction, putting Texas among the nation’s biggest and fastest-growing markets (The Texas Tribune).

“Texas will lose out on $3.2 billion in sales tax revenue over the next two years thanks to an exemption for the state’s booming data center industry,” according to the Texas Comptroller projection cited by The Texas Tribune.

The Texas Tribune — Texas Republicans have a data center problem, The Texas Tribune — Texas is giving data centers more than $1 billion in tax breaks each year, The Texas Tribune — A Texas county rejects moratorium on data center development, Texas Comptroller — State Sales Tax Exemption for Qualified Data Centers, Ballotpedia — Data center-related ballot measures, 2026, GT Law — Texas SB 6 Update