California and Texas are moving to add more restrictions on the development of new data centers as opposition to the projects becomes a major issue in midterm political campaigns.
On Monday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, stopped the state’s environmental agency from issuing new permits for data centers that seek to connect with the Texas electrical grid until regulators finish an audit of the power needed for the facilities.
Reuters reports that the governor’s directive to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality effectively halts all state-issued permits to developers of data centers. In the past three years, Texas has become one of the fastest-growing data center hubs in the U.S.
On the same day, California Gov. Gavin Newsom,...