Hundreds Pack Overflow Rooms as Texans Sound Alarm Over Data Center Growth

During a hearing before the House Committee on State Affairs, residents, state regulators, and local officials expressed concerns about the potential impacts large data centers could have on the state. 

On Wednesday, the State Affairs Committee heard testimony from hundreds of residents, prompting lawmakers to open two overflow rooms. 

Residents raised concerns about water supplies, noise levels, and electricity demands. 

One resident, Mark Friesenhahn, a pecan farmer in Comal County, spoke to lawmakers about the need to study water usage in addition to the large electricity loads required by data centers. 

Friesenhahn, who holds a professional engineer license, explained that data centers use significant amounts of water, but agriculture also requires substantial water resources. He provided lawmakers with a chart showing that agriculture is at the low end of the scale when it comes to water use and said farmers are struggling as the state faces dwindling water supplies. 

“My request is pretty straightforward. We’re talking with other committees, Sen. [Charles] Perry’s and others, to request that you help support water availability certification for new commercial operations for the life of their operation,” Friesenhahn said.

Another resident, Susan Tatro of Williamson County, also testified, telling lawmakers that a third data center could be approved just 200 feet from her property in her unincorporated community. Tatro raised concerns about the potential impact on her neighbors’ livestock and the noise associated with data centers. 

“Lights, noise, water,” Tatro said. “I have four acres with a tank. I’ve got ducks, I’ve got egrets. I’ve got dogs. I’ve got cats. I’ve got animals. My neighbors have cows. At the end of the day, I’m worried they could affect our springs.” 

Residents were not the only ones to testify before lawmakers. Leon County Precinct 3 Commissioner Kyle Workman also spoke before the committee to raise concerns he has heard from residents he represents. 

“Leon County is experiencing an influx of proposed date center-based projects and solar projects likely due to our rich local resources, proximity to the grid, natural gas resources, and large tracts of agricultural land,” Workman said. 

Workman said residents in his county have major concerns about the large projects but argued that the underlying issue is “a lack of county regulatory authority over unincorporated areas.” 

“The current one-size-fits-all approach is very problematic and leaves local citizens helpless in the face of great threats perceived from the implementation of these projects within their communities,” Workman said. “It is my respectful request that the state of Texas provide an increase to county control and influence over these such projects to ensure our citizens receive representation they expect from their local leaders.” 

State regulators also testified before the committee. Ben Barkley, CEO and public counsel of the Office of Public Utility Counsel, told lawmakers that residents could end up paying more on their electricity bills as a result of data centers. 

“There’s going to be a small portion of population growth that is going to contribute to the need for new transmission, and residential consumers should be paying for that,” Barkley said. “However, if you have a gigawatt data center coming online, and you need to build a significant amount of transmission to serve that data center, 100 percent of those costs should be paid for by that data center.”  

The 90th Texas Legislative Session has not yet convened. Lawmakers are currently receiving input and testimony that will help them draft and file bills addressing Texans’ concerns about the projects. 

Earlier this month, Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state regulators to conduct a comprehensive audit of data centers seeking to connect to the Texas grid, effectively pausing future data center projects until the review is complete. 

Under the order, Electric Reliability Council of Texas and Public Utility Commission will collect information from each data center project, including whether facilities are paying their own costs, how they plan to supply power, whether they rely on ERCOT for electricity, whether they provide and reuse their own water, and what measures they will take to reduce impacts on neighboring property owners and communities. 

The 90th Legislative Session will convene Jan. 12, 2027. Lawmakers can begin pre-filing bills Nov. 9.