By Cole Gee | Staff Writer
Years ago, when people thought about tech and innovation in America, Silicon Valley was viewed as the center of the future of technology. Industry giants like Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs and Elon Musk helped them earn that reputation, while Texas was known simply as home to oil and gas.
However, over the past few years many companies have moved to the Lone Star State, with OpenAI recently giving Texas a $500 billion investment. A big question remains — can Texas infrastructure handle the needs of this rapidly growing industry?
The Stargate Project is spearheaded by the Trump administration as well as OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman. Their website states, “This infrastructure will secure American leadership in AI, create hundreds of thousands of American jobs and generate massive economic benefit for the entire world.”
Stargate’s first data center will be built in Abilene and span over 870 acres — around the same size as Central Park. A facility of this size will require vast amounts of energy.
Texas has earned a reputation around the country for its power grid failing under various conditions. Whether it’s power outages due to Hurricane Beryl or the winter freezes, the power grid has failed Texans before, and now many experts worry about whether its infrastructure can handle the strain of these new data centers.
Ed Hirs is a professor in the department of economics at the University of Houston and is an energy consultant. He has consulted for many groups including independent energy providers, even to the Office of Conservation and Solar Energy.
When it comes to these new AI data centers, he said that Texas’ infrastructure needs to be updated, but there are ways these companies can reduce the stress on the system.
“I expect that the new AI data centers will be built with onsite generators, behind the meter,” Hirs said. “They should not be built without assurance that their power draw will not destabilize the grid.”
According to the Texas Solar Energy Society, Texas currently has 342 data centers which currently use up 8.8% of the state’s power.
Knowing this, Texas and OpenAI now have to plan not only for the present, but also the future. With Texas being given a steady stream of tech companies and startups, Texas could see itself launch their aging infrastructure to the future.
Dr. Kayla Garrett is a postdoc teaching fellow in the environmental science department with expertise in a variety of topics, including solar energy, hydropower and energy culture. Regarding Texas infrastructure, there are many improvements she believes can be made, but maintaining balance is critical, she said.
“We just need to continue to be mindful of balancing technological advancements and development with the environmental tradeoffs of increased energy use,” Garrett said via email. “Like with anything, there are tradeoffs. If we are to pursue more of these data centers, we need to ensure that we do not leave behind the environmental principles and realities of energy management.”
The Public Utility Commission issued a rule in November forcing crypto mining facilities connected to the ERCOT grid to register their power usage with regulators.
Texas has also released some strict AI regulation laws , including the EU AI Act, which would outright ban AI systems that pose an “outright risk,” as well as create obligations for developers and deployers of any AI system that is a “contributing factor” for high-risk decisions (health care services, housing, insurance etc.).