Texas communities are pushing hard for more transparency from data center projects, especially around water, power, and local impacts.
The Leon and McLennan County proposals highlight core AI infra issues: massive electricity demand, water use for cooling, and who actually pays for new transmission.
Policy voices want data centers to fully carry their grid and infrastructure costs, not lean on local ratepayers or fragile rural systems.
Regulators in Austin are debating how much these facilities should pay for transmission, which will shape economics for GPU-heavy AI builds across the state.
Operators are being called out for secrecy, with legislators pressing for more disclosure so communities can realistically plan for energy, water, and air quality.
If done right, these sites could add jobs and fund shared infrastructure; if done wrong, they amplify grid stress and local opposition that can slow AI buildout.
The piece is worth a read for how grassroots concerns are starting to influence state-level rules that will govern future large-scale AI data centers.
Source: Talks of transparency, accountability from data centers in Texas push forward
