Texas Data Centers Pose Pollution Challenge Amid Growth

The growth of Texas’ data-center industry could hamper decades of air pollution reductions. Recent research by the Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC) highlights the potential impact of the increasing electricity demands tied to the state’s AI expansion.

HARC’s study modeled potential emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), sulfur dioxide, fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and carbon dioxide through 2031, factoring in various electricity generation methods. The study emphasizes that the type of electricity generation significantly influences the environmental impact. Newsweek reached out to HARC for comments.

Data Centers Expanding Across Texas

Data centers are proliferating in regions such as Abilene, Dallas-Fort Worth, San Antonio, Austin, and West Texas. State records list substantial projects linked to major corporations like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Oracle. The City of Abilene has detailed information on ongoing data-center projects, like the Stargate project. In Fort Worth, city officials reported four existing data centers with 10 buildings and plans for more.

Potential Reversal of Environmental Gains

Texas has achieved significant emission reductions over the past twenty years. According to HARC, between 2002 and 2024, NOx emissions from power generation fell by 67 percent, sulfur dioxide by 80 percent, VOCs by 37 percent, carbon dioxide by 52 percent, and PM2.5 by 60 percent. However, data-center electricity demands may disrupt this progress.

If new data-center demands are met by the Texas electricity grid using a future energy mix, NOx emissions could rise by 136 percent above a scenario without data centers, nearing 2004 levels. VOC emissions might surpass 2002 levels by 32 percent, while PM2.5 emissions could revert to 2006 levels.

The choice of power sources is crucial. HARC found that NOx emissions could be two to ten times higher if data centers use fuel combustion to generate power, compared to a mix of grid electricity, solar, and wind. Even with the cleanest energy scenarios evaluated, data-center expansion is expected to increase emissions due to substantial electricity needs.

Surging Data Center Demand

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) provides data illustrating the potential for data-center expansion. As of August, the office of Republican Governor Greg Abbott announced ERCOT was considering over 474 gigawatts of grid connection requests, with approximately 90 percent attributed to data centers. Abbott tasked the Public Utility Commission of Texas and ERCOT with auditing data-center project interconnections, focusing on electricity and water needs, and on-site generation plans.

In September, Abbott instructed the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to pause data-center permit approvals until ERCOT’s audit completion, citing resource and grid reliability concerns. Newsweek has approached TCEQ for remarks.

HARC stressed the importance of current power supply decisions on future emissions, indicating that the data-center expansion might either induce slight increases or significantly reverse two decades of environmental progress.

This article was produced using Newsweek’s AI assistant, Martyn. For more about Martyn, readers can visit Newsweek’s website.