(The Center Square) – Texas appears to be ground zero for a large number of data centers, at least 140, planned to be built in rural communities statewide unless local governments and the state legislature act to impose restrictions.
As of April 2026, Texas has 84 operating data centers and 140 planned projects, according to an analysis by Cleanview, “a software platform that helps visualize clean energy data.” Operating data centers in Texas have a total capacity of 3,789 MW. Planned data centers would add another 75,089 MW of capacity, it says.
The company tracks more than 10,000 power projects, more than 1,000 data centers and more than 700 developers in the U.S.
Existing and planned projects could drain energy capacity and water resources and create unintended negative consequences, opponents argue.
According to a Bloomberg Energy 2026 Data Center Power report, by 2028, “Texas is projected to exceed 40 GW of capacity – nearly 30% of total U.S. demand – representing a 142% increase in market share relative to today.”
It also notes a market shift in growth. Last year, Bloomberg found that “AI driven computer demand was beginning to outpace the grid’s ability to deliver power at scale.” Within six months, if found “clear signs of stress – widening interconnection timelines, rising uncertainty, and growing interest in alternative power strategies.”
“Within three years, Texas is poised to become the nation’s leading data center market,” Bloomberg projects. “Legacy markets, such as California and Oregon, are expected to lose more than half of their relative market share. Despite Tier 1 markets largely driving capacity growth, emerging markets are collectively expanding their share by over 20% in aggregate.”
It also notes that data center campuses are expected to exceed gigawatt scale nationally. “By 2030, about one in five data center campuses are expected to exceed gigawatt scale, rising to one in three by 2035. At this scale, power delivery remains the primary constraint, but cooling capacity, water availability, permitting complexity, and network infrastructure will emerge as critical challenges,” it says.
According to a JLL Capital Markets report, “more than 35 GW of data center capacity is under construction in North America, an extraordinary volume by historical standards. For context, this is roughly equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of the UK or Italy.”
Of these projects, nearly 60% are leased, 40% “will be owner-occupied by hyperscalers,” JLL says. The majority of capacity under construction in the U.S. is in West Texas, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Ohio, according to its analysis.
“Texas, when viewed as a single market, could overtake Northern Virginia as the world’s largest data center market by 2030. Abundant energy resources, ample land availability and a business-friendly operating environment support this trajectory,” it says.
As of April 2026, there are 602 operating data centers with 16,914 MW of capacity and 888 planned projects nationwide that would add 278,302 MW of additional capacity, Cleanview’s national data center project tracker shows.
In Texas, 84 existing operating data centers have 3,789 MW of capacity. The 140 planned projects would add 75,089 MW of additional capacity, according to Cleanview’s analysis.
It has published maps of existing and planned data centers in Texas, with many planned to be built in a rural area stretching from San Antonio to Dallas, throughout the Panhandle from Amarillo to Lubbock, as well as in Wichita Falls and throughout west Texas from Odessa to Big Bend. Large areas are also marked on the map in El Paso, Victoria, Palestine, Brownsville, areas west of Houston, Rockport and north of Tyler.
It also lists the largest existing operating data centers in Texas, as well as planned data centers, ranking them by capacity in megawatts.
The largest existing data centers in Texas include IREN Childress (Bitcoin mining, 750 MW), Core Scientific (Denton, 391 MW), Black Pearl Bitcoin mining (Winkler, 300 MW), DFW III-I (Ellis, 262 MW), Hut 8 Vega Campus (Oldham, 205 MW), Stream Data Center San Antonio III-VII (Bexar County, 200 MW), Fort Worth Data Center (Tarrant County, 200 MW), Abilene Stargate Campus (200 MW), QST San Antonio (Bexar County 90 MW) and CyrusOne DFW (Dallas, 90 MW), according to the analysis.
The largest planned data centers in Texas include GW Ranch (Pecos County, 7,650 MW), Nexus Data Centers Hubbard (Hill, 7,200 MW), Fermi (Carson, 4,600 MW), Fermi Nuclear (Carson, 4,400 MW), Tract Caldwell Valley (Caldwell, 4,000 MW), Sailfish Comanche Circle (Hood, 3,200 MW), Microsoft Pecos Data Center (Reeves County, 2,500 MW), Fermi Natural Gas (Carson, 2,000 MW), Eneus Energy Cameron Data Center (Cameron County, 2,000 MW) and Provident Data Center (Ellis, 1,800 MW), according to the analysis.
Local residents and communities and some state and local lawmakers have expressed concern about data center growth in Texas, The Center Square reported.
