• Texas is asking projects for detailed information on electricity, on-site generation, water, cooling and other requirements before they advance
  • The review gives regulators a project-by-project check on an ERCOT connection queue exceeding five times the system's record peak demand

The fact

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said fewer than 10% of data-centre companies had responded to a state request for information needed to forecast future electricity demand, as Texas increases scrutiny of projects seeking grid connections.

Earlier this month, Abbott ordered the Public Utility Commission of Texas and grid operator ERCOT to audit every data-centre project advancing through the interconnection process. Projects must provide information including projected electricity use, plans for on-site generation, water demand, cooling technology, public incentives, ownership, and measures to limit effects on neighbouring communities. Projects that fail to meet applicable requirements can be denied a grid connection.

ERCOT is considering more than 474GW of connection requests, more than five times its record peak electricity demand. Abbott said about 90% of new requests are from data centres. He also told ABC's This Week that developers had expanded too quickly without gaining enough support from local communities.

The assessment

ERCOT’s 474GW queue measures requested power, not when that demand will arrive or how much of it will ultimately connect. A project can submit a large load request while its construction schedule, on-site generation plans, and other development details are still being worked out.

Texas is now requiring developers to provide more of that information before their requests move further through the connection process. This gives regulators more detail on individual projects, but clearing the review will not guarantee available grid capacity, financing or construction.

For BTW readers, the more useful number will be how much requested load remains after the review. That will show how much of the headline 474GW can satisfy Texas’s information requirements and continue through the interconnection process.

What to watch

Watch how many projects complete the audit, how much requested load remains in ERCOT's queue and whether any projects are denied connections or withdrawn. PUCT and ERCOT guidance on the information developers must provide will also show how much evidence is required before a data-centre request can continue through the interconnection process.