Caprock Broke Ground. Projects That Can't Match It Won't.

Texas is the story today, on every pillar at once. Aligned Data Centers broke ground on Project Caprock, a 540MW, $5 billion campus near Abernathy in Hale County, while at the Capitol, lawmakers grilled ERCOT and PUC officials on who pays for the state's data center surge, and Google confirmed a 933MW natural gas plant under construction in Armstrong County. Separately, a shooting at an Indianapolis councilmember's home, with a "No Data Centers" note left behind, signals that community opposition nationally has crossed into dangerous territory.

These threads converge on a single question: can Texas build fast enough, fairly enough, and safely enough to hold its position as the world's premier data center market? The answer depends on what happens in the next 24 months at ERCOT, the PUC, and in communities across the state.

ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas told the House Committee on State Affairs that over 130,000 megawatts of new projects entered the interconnection queue in the last month and a half, with data centers comprising roughly 87% of queue growth. The serial, project-by-project approval process is failing: by the time one project clears, parallel development alters grid topology and invalidates previous analysis. Vegas proposed a batch approach, analyzing all projects simultaneously and allocating capacity over a 4-to-5-year window to give developers financing certainty.

Meanwhile, Google's 933MW gas plant in Armstrong County, built off-grid with Crusoe Energy, shows hyperscalers aren't waiting for the queue to clear. Aligned's Project Caprock takes a different path: Xcel Energy partners on dedicated electrical infrastructure funded by Aligned, insulating local ratepayers. These two models, bypass the grid entirely or fund your own interconnection, are becoming the only viable options. The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas projects data center electricity demand will double in five years, potentially driving wholesale power prices up 50%. Developers without firm power commitments face years of delay. The risk: if ERCOT's batch processing proposal stalls or the PUC moves slowly on transmission cost reallocation, Texas loses projects to states with clearer timelines.

Aligned's Hale County campus deploys DeltaFlow liquid cooling paired with closed-loop, air-cooled heat rejection that recirculates water indefinitely, eliminating draw on the Ogallala Aquifer. This is a direct response to the failed North Lubbock proposal that pulled back from zoning in January over water and grid concerns. Abernathy City Manager Julie Arrington explicitly praised the resource conservation approach. State Senator Charles Perry had warned that developers asking "what can you give me" are red flags.

Georgia's experience underscores why this matters. At a Savannah forum, residents cited data center water consumption of 1 million to 5 million gallons daily. PSC Commissioner Peter Hubbard flagged potential cost-shifting to ratepayers on a 10GW grid expansion, 90% of which serves large-load data centers. The risk for Texas developers: closed-loop water design is becoming a prerequisite for community acceptance, not a differentiator. Projects that can't demonstrate aquifer-neutral operations will face the same grassroots resistance that killed the Lubbock competitor.

The numbers tell the story: $98 billion in data center projects across 11 states were blocked or delayed between April and June 2025, per Data Center Watch. Sen. Sanders and Rep. Ocasio-Cortez introduced the AI Data Center Moratorium Act. Only 26% of registered voters hold favorable views of AI. Then came Indianapolis: 13 bullets through Councilmember Ron Gibson's home, a "No Data Centers" note, six days after he supported a $500 million Metrobloks rezoning that passed 6-2 despite organized community opposition.

In Texas, the political equation is sharper. The House Committee on State Affairs heard testimony that $33 billion in long-distance transmission projects are planned, with households currently shouldering a disproportionate share of costs. PUC Chair Thomas Gleeson signaled rebalancing is coming. Skybox's Haynes Strader argued Texas is "the only place in the free world" positioned to compete with China on AI. The Trump administration's Executive Order 14318 directs federal agencies to expedite data center permitting, and the Army Corps issued Nationwide Permit 39 to streamline Clean Water Act reviews. But federal tailwinds don't eliminate local headwinds: Imperial, California's $10 billion project faces litigation over alleged fast-tracked environmental review. The risk: developers who rely on federal deregulation momentum without building local political support will face costly litigation and delays. In Texas, the PUC's transmission cost reallocation timeline will determine whether the state's political consensus holds.