Data Centers

Lubbock’s City Council passed a resolution yesterday that the council would not consider any large-scale data center developments until after the city has adopted standards to protect residents and resources. A presentation of proposed regulations is scheduled for tomorrow at a special meeting of Lubbock’s Planning & Zoning Commission, tomorrow morning at 8:30 a.m. at Citizens Tower, located at 1314 Avenue K. You can find a copy of the recommendations here.

Data center development has picked up in the Austin area, and residents have voiced concerns about water and energy resources related to the construction. But experts say they can use those concerns to get the companies to build more sustainably.

Since President Trump announced the Lancium Crusoe Stargate facility in early 2025, Taylor County has celebrated new revenue and jobs, but community members have also decried the spike in housing costs, traffic, and other impacts.

Data centers and agriculture depend on many of the same resources, such as water, land and electricity, which has some in the industry worried about the future.

Texas Comptroller Don Huffines has called on local governments to provide property tax relief and for school districts to cut "bloat." Texas Public Radio's Brian Kirkpatrick reports on Huffines' comments. Officials in Granbury are reversing course on five recall petitions targeting the mayor and four city council members over transparency concerns regarding a data center project in the city. KERA's Emmanuel Rivas explains the decision is a reversal of a rejection from earlier this summer.

Granbury officials will present five recall petitions to the city council after previously rejecting them. Petition organizers are asking an appeals court to enforce the charter's timeline.

Lubbock City Council accepted a citizens’ petition for an 18-month pause on data center development in the city and will be hearing from residents regarding the proposal on Sept. 8. If the council rejects the petition at the hearing, organizers can choose to put it on the ballot in a general election.

Lubbock’s city council voted unanimously this week to accept a petition from citizens calling for an 18-month pause on large-scale data centers in the city. This vote does not enact the moratorium; the council will hold a public hearing on the petition on September 8. If the council rejects the petition at the hearing, organizers can choose to put it on the ballot in a general election. The city secretary pointed out that because the deadline for November’s general election has passed, it would not be up for a vote until May of next year.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller says frustration among rural Republicans over data centers, transmission lines and other state policies has grown so intense that he and some other GOP voters may refuse to vote for some Republican candidates in the November election.

Energy regulators and industry experts warn that the state's delays to major projects amid backlash from residents could create rolling blackouts and strangle growth of other industries that need power.