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Key developments
Texas hearing exposes weak water disclosure
Texas lawmakers used a House Natural Resources Committee hearing in Austin to press data center operators and state agencies on incomplete water-use reporting. The Texas Water Development Board said surveyed data center and crypto-mining facilities grew from 22 in 2023 to 341 in 2025, but only about 17% returned required questionnaires; the Public Utility Commission’s separate voluntary survey received 28 company responses representing 92 facilities. Lawmakers also heard that more than half of Texas counties lack groundwater conservation districts, leaving no statewide tracking or legal pumping limit in those areas.
Why it matters
Texas is trying to regulate fast-growing data center demand without reliable facility-level water or groundwater-use data.
Sources & driving stories
KWTX · Jasmine Lotts
KWTX coverageTHE TEXAS TRIBUNE · Alejandra Martinez
The Texas Tribune coverageCOURTHOUSE NEWS · Kirk McDaniel
Courthouse News coverageOff-grid AI power plants gain faster approvals
Reuters reporting carried by Tucson found at least 57 off-grid U.S. power plants proposed or under construction to serve individual data centers, with more than a dozen approved in under a year. In Middleton Township, Ohio, the Apollo Generating Station serving Meta’s Bowling Green data center was approved in under three months, and its air permit was not public until after construction began. Ohio also enacted a law allowing some facilities to be approved in as little as 45 days without public hearings.
Why it matters
AI-driven data center growth is pushing large power projects through faster, less visible approval channels with major implications for emissions, local oversight and grid planning.
Sources & driving stories
TUCSON · Valerie Volcovici
Tucson coverageMichigan moratorium push returns at Capitol
Michigan lawmakers, local officials and residents rallied at the state Capitol to renew calls for statewide data center limits. State Sen. Jim Runestad and state Rep. Jennifer Wortz are backing Senate Bills 1018-1020 and House Bills 5594-5596, which would halt data center development until April 1, 2027; related House bills would repeal data center tax exemptions. Opponents also challenged Michigan Strategic Fund tax-break guidelines, citing estimates that exemptions could cost at least $52.5 million and possibly more than $90 million.
Why it matters
Michigan’s debate shows data center opposition moving from local siting fights into state tax, clean-energy and development policy.
Sources & driving stories
MICHIGAN ADVANCE · Kyle Davidson
Michigan Advance coverageWorth noting
WORTH NOTING
Congress weighs large-load cost rules
The House is set to consider the Ratepayer Protection Act, which would push state utilities to make data center builders pay for grid upgrades tied to large new loads.
WORTH NOTING
Local moratoria keep spreading
Lake County, Florida and Homewood, Alabama approved one-year pauses, while Seward County, Nebraska is preparing a June 30 vote and Dubuque County, Iowa is holding public sessions after a 12-month halt.
WORTH NOTING
Blackstone eyes Japan AI buildout
Blackstone plans about $30 billion in Japan AI data center investments over three to five years and is discussing facilities exceeding 1 gigawatt, according to Nikkei reporting covered by Reuters.
Still unclear
OPEN QUESTION
Will Texas enforce data center reporting?
The state has mandatory water surveys but only a Class C misdemeanor and maximum $500 fine for nonresponse, leaving lawmakers with weak data for water planning.
OPEN QUESTION
Can self-supplied power avoid public oversight?
Off-grid plants may reduce direct utility cost-shifting, but fast approvals and limited disclosure raise unresolved questions about emissions, permitting and community review.