DistantNews
Support us
🇦🇷 Argentina /Technology

After Abbott’s audits, Meta and OpenAI pledge to meet Texas data-center rules

From Clarín · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Official statement New plan
  • Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered energy and water audits for artificial intelligence data-center projects after concerns about pressure on the state’s power grid.
  • Meta and OpenAI have pledged to comply with the audits, while the Public Utility Commission of Texas and ERCOT must review each project before approval.
  • More than 1,800 projects are reportedly awaiting approval, representing potential demand of 474 gigawatts, more than five times Texas’s record peak consumption.

Texas has frozen the approval of new artificial intelligence data centers while state authorities examine their impact on electricity and water supplies. Governor Greg Abbott said Meta and OpenAI had committed to complying with the audits required before their projects can proceed.

The decision requires the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to halt progress on the interconnection queue until each project undergoes a comprehensive review. Abbott said the audits would ensure that data centers protect the electricity grid, conserve water, respect neighbourhoods and operate independently.

I established clear limits to ensure data centers protect our electric grid, conserve our water, respect our neighborhoods and are self-sufficient.

· Greg AbbottAbbott explained the purpose of the energy and water audits for data-center projects.

The governor also said projects should not shift costs onto Texas families or interfere with their quality of life. “I established clear limits to ensure data centers protect our electric grid, conserve our water, respect our neighborhoods and are self-sufficient,” Abbott said. “They must not shift costs to Texas families or interfere with their quality of life.”

They must not shift costs to Texas families or interfere with their quality of life.

· Greg AbbottThe Texas governor set out protections for households and communities.

The pressure comes as ERCOT’s interconnection queue reaches what state officials describe as a critical level. More than 1,800 projects are waiting for approval, with potential demand of 474 gigawatts. That is more than five times the record peak consumption previously recorded in Texas.

Under the standards announced by Abbott, projects must pay for their own electricity infrastructure, reuse their water, reduce electricity costs for Texans, avoid disrupting residential neighbourhoods and remove reliance on outdated taxpayer-funded incentives. PUCT and ERCOT must receive and audit the relevant information before projects can move forward.

They cannot make decisions to ensure the stability and reliability of the electric grid based on substantially incomplete information.

· Greg AbbottAbbott said regulators need complete project information before approving data centers.
About this summary

Originally published by Clarín in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog