AI infrastructure push faces resistance from Texas town over data center plans

Residents gathered in Bastrop on Wednesday evening to voice frustration over the rapid expansion of data centers across Central Texas. The town hall meeting drew bipartisan criticism of the industry, with Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller and state Rep. Vikki Goodwin joining calls for greater oversight of developments that residents say could threaten water supplies, raise electric costs, and bring industrial sprawl to rural communities.

The gathering came amid growing concern over data center projects in Cedar Creek, including EdgeConneX’s approved and proposed buildings. Residents have questioned whether developers and local officials have provided enough information about water use, electricity demand, noise, tax incentives, and long-term impacts.

The backlash reflects a growing movement across Texas. The state is poised to become the No. 1 U.S. data center market, and JLL has projected that Texas could overtake Northern Virginia as the world’s largest by 2030.

Bastrop residents voice anger over Cedar Creek data center project

The EdgeConneX development in Cedar Creek has become a flashpoint for community opposition in Bastrop County. State and county records identify CoreWeave as the expected user of EdgeConneX’s first data center building, and Community Impact reported that construction continues on the first of 19 potential EdgeConneX data center buildings planned in Cedar Creek.

Bastrop County approved a 10-year, 75% property tax abatement for an EdgeConneX building in December 2024. Local reporting and project filings describe major planned data center construction in the area, including large facilities tied to EdgeConneX and related developments. Residents have questioned whether the economic benefits justify the costs, citing concerns about noise, light pollution, water and electricity demand, and the strain on local infrastructure.

The meeting highlighted growing frustration with a development process that many residents feel excludes community input. Speakers and attendees described the issue as cross-partisan, with residents from different political backgrounds raising similar concerns about transparency, land use, utility costs, and the long-term character of Cedar Creek and Bastrop County.

State leaders split on data center oversight as Abbott faces pressure

Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, a Republican, has criticized Gov. Greg Abbott’s handling of Texas’s data center boom and called for stronger oversight of the industry. Miller has argued that Texas needs a moratorium or a special legislative session to address water use, electricity demand, farmland loss, and the power grid impacts tied to rapid data center expansion.

Miller has also framed the issue as one that crosses party lines, saying data center concerns should not be viewed only through a Republican or Democratic lens. His criticism reflects a broader split among Texas officials as local residents, state candidates, and policymakers debate how much regulation the industry should face.

Abbott, who previously called Texas the “epicenter of AI development,” has more recently called for tighter regulation of data centers. He has directed regulators to help ensure Texans are not paying higher electricity bills because of data centers and has said he wants to prevent data centers from being built in “rural Texas neighborhoods.”

Texas counties struggle to regulate industrial growth amid legal threats

The lack of zoning authority in Texas counties has left many local governments with limited tools to manage the rapid expansion of data centers. Bastrop County, like many others, has limited regulatory power over industrial projects in unincorporated areas, a reality that has frustrated residents and officials alike.

Hill County passed a moratorium on data center development but quickly reversed the decision after a developer sued, arguing that the county had exceeded its legal authority. Other Texas communities have pursued different approaches, including zoning changes, special permit rules, disclosure requirements, public hearings, water-use rules, and temporary pauses or resolutions opposing certain projects.

San Marcos has debated stricter data center rules, Austin officials have examined stronger water-use standards for high-volume users, and Taylor officials have responded to a resident petition calling for a temporary ban until a dedicated digital infrastructure zone is created. The patchwork of local responses underscores the lack of uniform statewide standards for an industry reshaping rural and suburban communities across Texas.

Data center opposition emerges as a defining issue in Texas elections

The backlash against data centers has moved from local town halls to statewide campaigns, with Democratic candidates seizing on the issue to challenge Republican dominance. Gina Hinojosa, the Democratic nominee for governor, has made data center regulation a central theme of her long-shot campaign, arguing that residents deserve a say in developments that affect their communities. She has pledged to block permits for projects that do not serve the public interest.

Recent polling from the University of Texas at Austin found that 56% of Texans oppose the construction of data centers in their communities, while only 29% support it. Rural residents are the most opposed, with 62% against such projects, followed by suburbanites at 60%.

The opposition crosses party lines: 71% of Democrats and 44% of Republicans oppose data center construction in their areas. Republican women are significantly more opposed than Republican men, with 50% against compared to 38%.

The issue has also surfaced in the race for agriculture commissioner, where Democratic nominee Clayton Tucker, a rancher, said data centers are the dominant topic at his campaign events. Tucker called it “the most cross-partisan issue I’ve ever seen in my life,” noting that voters from both parties share concerns about water consumption, rising costs, and the loss of agricultural land. The political calculus has shifted in a state where Republicans have controlled statewide offices for three decades.

Public skepticism about AI fuels resistance to data center infrastructure

The opposition to data centers may be driven in part by broader public ambivalence about artificial intelligence, the technology fueling the construction boom. UT polling found that 49% of Texans expect AI to hurt the economy, while only 29% foresee positive effects. Rural and suburban residents are particularly pessimistic, with 55% and 54%, respectively, anticipating negative economic consequences from AI.

Texas voters also express mixed views about AI’s impact on their personal finances, with 26% expecting negative effects and 23% anticipating positive outcomes.

Democrats and rural residents are more likely to foresee negative impacts, while Republicans and urban dwellers are comparatively more optimistic. The alignment of AI skepticism with data center opposition suggests that residents are connecting the physical infrastructure to the technology it supports.

The poll also found that 61% of Texans have heard a lot about AI, while only 39% have followed news about data centers closely. Rural residents are significantly more likely to have heard a lot about data centers, at 49%, compared to 36% in urban areas and 39% in the suburbs. The awareness gap highlights the intensity of the issue in communities directly affected by development, though skepticism about AI extends well beyond those areas.

TL;DR

• Bastrop County residents gathered at a town hall meeting to raise concerns about data center projects in Cedar Creek, including EdgeConneX’s approved and proposed buildings.
• Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller and state Rep. Vikki Goodwin have called for greater oversight of data centers, while Miller has criticized Gov. Greg Abbott’s handling of the industry’s rapid growth.
• Texas is poised to become the No. 1 U.S. data center market, and JLL has projected that it could overtake Northern Virginia as the world’s largest by 2030.
• Recent UT polling shows 56% of Texans oppose data center construction in their communities, with rural residents most opposed at 62% and suburban residents close behind at 60%.
• The backlash has become an issue in statewide elections, with Democratic candidates highlighting data center regulation in a state where Republicans have dominated statewide offices for three decades.
• Public skepticism about artificial intelligence, with 49% of Texans expecting negative economic impacts, appears to be fueling resistance to the data center infrastructure that supports AI development.
  

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This article was made with AI assistance and human editing.