Gov. Greg Abbott called for blocking new data center development in rural parts of the state during a campaign stop in East Texas on Tuesday. Abbott’s push for a prohibition in rural neighborhoods appears to go further than a sweeping regulatory framework he unveiled earlier this month.

Regulatory Framework

The framework called for data centers to add new power generation to the grid, pay for their own infrastructure costs, reuse their own water and implement measures such as setbacks, among other proposals aimed at limiting their impact on residential communities.

Abbott reiterated his support on Tuesday for the measures laid out in his earlier announcement. He instructed the Public Utility Commission to guarantee any data center development does not come at the cost of Texans and our local communities.

Local Control

The call for a ban in rural neighborhoods comes as many rural counties and activists have attempted to pass moratoriums and called for the Legislature to grant them greater local control to prevent the construction of the centers. Opponents argue that the oftentimes gigantic operations will put their water availability and air quality at risk and threaten to hike their power bills.

Original reporting: Texarkana Gazette — read the source article.