Thursday, February 26, 2026

Turbines Ease the Power Bottleneck. 91 Billion Gallons Say Water Is Next.

Boom Supersonic just landed Crusoe Energy as the first customer for its 42 MW aeroderivative turbine at the Stargate campus in Abilene, part of a broader rush toward trailerized gas generation that delivers megawatts in weeks instead of years. The speed is real, but so is the upstream problem: Bluefield Research projects indirect water consumption from datacenter electricity generation will hit 91 billion gallons by 2030, nearly double today's levels, with 72% of total AI datacenter water use occurring off-site at power plants rather than in cooling towers. Texas is at the center of both trends. San Marcos just rejected a $1.5 billion, 380 MW campus over aquifer depletion, TCEQ cleared Fermi America's Amarillo air permits over coalition objections, and the GRID Act in Congress would force any datacenter above 20 MW to source power entirely off-grid. The generation bottleneck is loosening; the water and permitting bottlenecks are tightening.

Today's Lead

Aeroderivative gas turbines are crossing from niche peaking duty into core datacenter power strategy, with Boom Supersonic's 42 MW Boom Superpower unit landing Crusoe Energy as its first customer at the Stargate campus in Abilene, Texas. The deployment is a schedule-saving response to interconnection queues stretching years, transformer shortages, and permitting gridlock that Sightline Climate now estimates will delay 26 to 50 percent of the 140 datacenters targeted for 2026 completion. GE Vernova's LM6000, Mitsubishi Power's FT8 MOBILEPAC, and ProEnergy's retrofitted CF6-80C2 cores are all competing for a market where trailerized gas turbines deliver megawatts in weeks rather than years, and the real question is whether Texas air quality regulators and local governments can keep pace with mobile gas generation arriving faster than permitting frameworks anticipated.

[1]·[2]

Power

The Self-Supply Scramble Is Reshaping Who Builds Generation in America

Hyperscalers are building their own power rather than waiting for grid access. Oracle is developing 1.2 GW in Abilene, 1.4 GW in Shackelford County, and multiple gigawatt-scale sites elsewhere. Google acquired Intersect, now controlling roughly 10.8 GW of solar, storage, and gas capacity. Amazon's $12 billion Louisiana deal with SWEPCO requires the company to fund all power infrastructure, substations, transmission lines, and grid upgrades, plus 200 MW of new solar. ExxonMobil partnered with NextEra on a 1.2 GW gas plant dedicated to datacenter supply; Chevron teamed with GE Vernova on similar projects.

The GRID Act introduced by U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) would codify this trend into law: any datacenter above 20 MW must source power off-grid, with existing facilities given 10 years to comply and $1 million daily fines for violations. Whether or not the bill advances, the direction is clear: self-supply is becoming table stakes.

The risk is lock-in. Decades-long gas PPAs signed today could strand operators if fuel economics shift or if future regulation penalizes fossil-fired behind-the-meter generation.

[2]·[3]·[4]·[5]·[6]

Water

The Real Water Crisis Is Upstream at the Power Plant, Not in the Cooling Tower

Bluefield Research's new report reframes the datacenter water debate: 72% of total water consumption tied to AI datacenters by 2030 will occur off-site at power generation facilities, not in on-site cooling systems. Indirect water consumption from electricity generation is projected to nearly double, from 54 billion gallons in 2025 to 91 billion gallons by 2030. Google's indirect water footprint from power generation alone exceeded 5 billion gallons in 2024, representing 43% of its total usage.

Texas, Virginia, and Pennsylvania collectively represent over $360 billion in planned investments, but the bottleneck is shifting to water rights and availability at generation sites. Google's Wilbarger County facility is designed with air cooling and water replenishment commitments, while Amazon's Louisiana deal limits on-site water use to less than 13% of the year and pledges $400 million for water infrastructure improvements. These are smart plays, but they address only the on-site slice.

If the gas plants powering these campuses sit in water-stressed basins, the upstream problem remains unsolved. Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra's push for a moratorium on high-water-use industrial permits and Stage 4 drought restrictions signal that Texas communities are beginning to connect these dots.

[7]·[8]·[6]·[9]

Politics

Central Texas Becomes Ground Zero for Municipal Resistance

San Marcos City Council voted 5-2 to reject Highlander SM One's $1.5 billion, 380 MW datacenter campus, blocking rezoning for a five-building complex on Francis Harris Lane near the Hays Energy Power Station. The Planning and Zoning Commission had approved it 6-2; the full Council overrode them. Water was the deciding issue: San Marcos River Foundation Executive Director Virginia Parker testified that Hays County is "out of water," with aquifer levels at historic lows.

Meanwhile, Round Rock approved Skybox Data Centers' third facility despite organized opposition from Protect Round Rock, a group founded by resident Gary Oldham after discovering eight datacenters had already been greenlit before public awareness materialized. Oldham documented cascading water and power demand and elevated low-frequency noise at operational Skybox facilities. Bobby Levinski of the Data Center Action Coalition captured the dynamic precisely: zoning remains "the one point where communities still have an ability to say No."

Highlander can resubmit in San Marcos in six months, so the fight continues. The accumulating pattern matters more than any single rejection. New Brunswick scrapped a facility after viral opposition. At least 25 U.S. datacenter projects were canceled in 2025 due to local pushback. If Central Texas resistance spreads to North Texas or West Texas corridors, the state's competitive advantage in fast permitting erodes.

[9]·[10]·[11]

Sources we cited

11 articles across 11 publishers · 239 reviewed today

[1]Data Center Frontier
Aeroderivative Turbines Move to the Center of AI Data Center Power Strategy
Feb 25, 2026·From aviation company Boom Supersonic, the Boom Superpower is a 42-megawatt natural gas turbine designed for data center power generation, a…
[2]Oklahoma Energy Today
Data center operators run into delays due to power demands and opposition
Feb 25, 2026·As data center controversies boil in different cities and sites around Oklahoma and some government entities consider new ordinances targeti…
[3]MR Online
Data centers are not a license to drill
Feb 25, 2026·Tell me if this sounds familiar: Your city entered into an agreement with a developer to build a massive data center on the outskirts of tow…
[4]Hartford Business Journal
Blumenthal teams up with GOP senator to rein in data centers
Feb 26, 2026·Hoping to blunt concerns over the rising costs of electricity in Connecticut and around the country, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., …
[5]ENR
Amazon to Break Ground on $12B Louisiana Data Center Network
Feb 25, 2026·AWS data center complex in an undisclosed western region, with three active facilities and a fourth under construction, reflecting the broad…
[6]GeekWire
Water, power, and transparency: Amazon’s $12B data center deal signals a new era of accountability
Feb 23, 2026·by Lisa Stiffler on Feb 23, 2026 at 2:43 pmFebruary 23, 2026 at 4:07 pm Amazon on Monday announced a $12 billion data center project in Lou…
[7]Smart Water Magazine
AI's electricity boom is redrawing the U.S. water map
Feb 23, 2026·The artificial intelligence (AI)-driven data center boom is fundamentally transforming the U.S. water landscape. Surging electricity demand …
[8]ITPro
Google talks up new Texas data center that uses minimal water – except for 'critical campus operations' like kitchens
Feb 26, 2026·New data center plans look to capitalize on air cooling and clean energy generation Sign up today and you will receive a free copy of our F…
[9]The Austin Chronicle
Central Texas Cities Balance Data Center Proposals
Feb 26, 2026·Cheers and sobs filled San Marcos City Hall early Wednesday as City Council voted 5-2 to deny a proposal for a nearly 200-acre data center c…
[10]deceleration.news
Round Rock Texas Approves Ninth Data Center Over Strong Community Resistance
Feb 25, 2026·Earlier this month, Round Rock City Council approved a rezoning request to allow Skybox Data Centers to become the ninth data center in this…
[11]Yahoo
Viral video captures residents' reaction after officials cancel plans for US data center: 'It almost did not feel real'
Feb 25, 2026·Ben Dziobek likes to think of himself as Paul Revere. At least, he does after watching the video his organization, Climate Revolution Action…

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