Data Centers in Texas Statistics 2026: Grid Queue, Tax and Water

ERCOT is tracking approximately 474 GW of large loads seeking interconnection to the Texas grid as of June 2026. Approximately 90% of those new power requests come from data centers in Texas. Governor Greg Abbott’s office puts those requests at more than five times Texas’ record peak electricity demand for ERCOT.

On August 3, 2026, Governor Abbott directed the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to audit all data centers advancing through ERCOT’s interconnection process before any data center project moves forward. ERCOT has since conditionally classified 204 projects (66.4 GW) as base load and 158 projects (127.9 GW) as studied load.

Key Takeaways

• ERCOT’s large-load queue stood at an implied 232 GW at the end of 2025 and reached approximately 474 GW by June 2026, about 2.0 times that level.
• Batch Zero conditionally classified 194.3 GW of large loads as base or studied load, about 41% of the approximately 474 GW of requests ERCOT tracks.
• Aterio Texas data analyzed by the Baker Institute holds 1,188 facility records: 228 active, 152 under construction and 749 announced.
• JLL counts 26 GW of existing and under-construction capacity in Texas, followed by Virginia at 13 GW.
• The Comptroller estimates revenue losses of $1.305 billion in 2026 from the data center sales-tax exemption, implying about $20.88 billion of exempt purchases at the 6.25% state rate.
• HARC says existing data centers in Texas consume an estimated 25 billion gallons of water annually, a figure that could rise to between 29 billion gallons and 161 billion gallons per year by 2030.

Editor’s Choice

• Record grid peak: 85,508 MW of ERCOT Region demand, set on August 10, 2023, the all-time peak as of April 2026.
• Preliminary 2032 load forecast: 367,790 MW of total demand in the ERCOT Region.
• Google’s Texas investment: $40 billion, bringing three new data center campuses to the state, announced November 14, 2025.
• Estimated 2026 investment: $66.2 billion in annual Texas data center investment, per the Baker Institute.
• Large-load threshold: 75 megawatts, unless the commission determines a lower threshold is necessary.
• Abilene campus IT power: 421 MW current and 843 MW projected for OpenAI Stargate Abilene, per Epoch AI estimates.

Texas Data Center Count by Development Stage

• The current Aterio Texas subset analyzed by the Rice University Baker Institute contains 1,188 data center facility records.
• 228 of those records are active and 152 are under construction, a combined 380 facilities operating or being built.
• Announced projects make up 749 records, about 63% of the subset.

Source: Rice University Baker Institute, Aterio facility data, 2026

About This Data

• Compiled from 15 publications: 4 ERCOT presentations, 1 ERCOT load-forecast filing with the PUCT, 2 releases from the Texas Governor’s office, 1 Comptroller program page, the enrolled text of the state’s large-load bill, 1 Rice University Baker Institute working paper, 1 HARC white paper release, 1 JLL release, 2 CBRE publications and Epoch AI’s data center tracker.
• Sources date from 2025 (the enrolled bill, a CBRE first-half 2025 market profile and Google’s November 2025 announcement) to October 2026.
• Only state agencies, the grid operator, legislative text, independent research and company releases qualified; paid market-research reports were excluded.
• Figures are reviewed on a rolling basis and updated when sources publish new editions.

How many data centers are in Texas?

Aterio data analyzed by the Baker Institute counts 228 active Texas data center facility records, 152 under construction and 749 announced. JLL measures capacity instead, at 26 GW of existing and under-construction capacity in Texas. A facility record, a gigawatt total and a metro megawatt figure measure different things, so the three are not interchangeable.

Data Centers in Texas vs Other Markets

• Dallas-Fort Worth held 1,432.8 MW of data center inventory in CBRE Research’s Q2 2026 data, behind Northern Virginia at 4,496.5 MW and Atlanta at 1,803.2 MW.
• Northern Virginia’s inventory is about 3.1 times that of Dallas-Fort Worth.
• Vacancy across North America’s primary markets held steady at 1.4%.
• Total data center supply across North America’s primary markets grew 33.7% year over year.
• Net absorption increased by nearly 12% to 1,456 MW.

JLL, measuring at the state level, says Texas has 26 GW of existing and under-construction capacity, followed by Virginia at 13 GW. JLL’s totals include capacity still being built, while CBRE’s count metro inventory, so the gap between Texas and data centers in Virginia depends on which measure a reader uses. The same scope question applies to any ranking of the largest data centers in the US.

Source: JLL, August 2026

Recent Developments

• September 14-15, 2026: ERCOT told its board it had provided conditional classification for all Batch Zero large loads.
• August 20, 2026: ERCOT presented its Batch Zero verification and audit process and a community impact review process at the PUCT open meeting.
• August 11, 2026: JLL reported that North America data center demand reached an all-time high in the first half of 2026, with 25 GW of absorption.
• August 10, 2026: ERCOT filed with the PUCT a request for three good cause exceptions for PGRR 145, along with a status update on related matters.
• August 3, 2026: ERCOT issued a Market Notice pausing the Batch Zero study process and paused approvals to energize data centers or crypto facilities of 75 MW or greater.
• July 29, 2026: ERCOT told the Senate Committee on Business & Commerce it is tracking approximately 474 GW of large loads seeking interconnection.

ERCOT Large Load Interconnection Queue

• ERCOT received 198 new Large Load Interconnection requests in Q1 2026.
• The queue grew by 178 GW from the end of 2025 through Q1 2026.
• By June 2026 ERCOT was tracking approximately 474 GW of large loads, with data centers at about 90%.
• That is about 2.0 times the implied 232 GW queue at the end of 2025.
• That total is about 5.5 times ERCOT’s 85,508 MW all-time peak demand as of April 2026.

Source: ERCOT and Office of the Texas Governor, 2026

How much power do Texas data centers want from the grid?

ERCOT is tracking approximately 474 GW of large loads seeking interconnection, and about 90% of them are data centers. As of April 2026, the ERCOT Region’s all-time peak demand was 85,508 MW. A request is a place in the queue, not connected load, and data center projects also face the state-ordered verification and audit before they move forward.

Batch Zero and the Texas Data Center Audit

• ERCOT conditionally classified 158 projects as studied load and 204 projects as base load.
• Those classes sit against approximately 474 GW of large-load requests tracked as of June 2026.
• Together the two classes hold 194.3 GW, about 41% of the large-load requests ERCOT tracks.
• Batch Zero covers large loads of 75 MW or greater under PGRR 145, and ERCOT paused the study process on August 3, 2026.

By the numbers: ERCOT has conditionally classified 362 Batch Zero projects as base or studied load. ERCOT says the verification and audit process will have a TBD impact on the Batch Zero process and timeline. The share describes the whole queue, not a pass rate, because eligibility criteria decided which requests entered the batch.

What is Batch Zero?

Batch Zero is ERCOT’s one-time transitional study of the reliability impacts of large loads, defined as 75 MW or greater, that seek to interconnect to the ERCOT system and meet eligibility criteria under Planning Guide Revision Request (PGRR) 145. ERCOT paused the study process to address Governor Abbott’s August 3, 2026 directive.

Texas Grid Demand Forecast and Data Center Load

• ERCOT’s preliminary Long-Term Load Forecast projects approximately 278,003 MW of total demand in the ERCOT Region by 2029 and 367,790 MW by 2032.
• The 2032 figure is about 4.3 times ERCOT’s all-time peak demand as of April 2026.
• ERCOT attributes the vast majority of the 2029 and 2032 load forecast to Large Loads identified in transmission and distribution service provider load submissions.
• The Texas forecast is one part of the wider data center energy consumption picture.

Worth noting: ERCOT has concerns with using the preliminary load forecast values for the Reliability Assessment and any other transmission and resource adequacy analysis, and would prefer to consult with PUCT staff about seeking an adjustment. In its April 2026 load-forecast filing, ERCOT projected summer 2026 peak load within a range of approximately 90,500 MW to 98,000 MW.

SB 6 Large Load Rules for Texas Data Centers

• Under Senate Bill 6, the commission shall establish a demand threshold of 75 megawatts unless the commission determines that a lower threshold is necessary.
• The act covers the planning for, interconnection and operation of, and costs related to providing service for certain electrical loads.
• A power generation company, municipally owned utility or electric cooperative must notify ERCOT’s independent organization before net metering a stand-alone generation resource registered as of September 1, 2025, with a new large load customer.
• Governor Abbott’s audit order says any project that fails to comply with PUCT and ERCOT requirements will be denied connection to the Texas grid.

Source: Texas Legislature, 2025; ERCOT, 2026

Data Center Investment in Texas

• Baker Institute analysis estimates annual Texas data center investment will rise from approximately $3.4 billion in 2022 to $66.2 billion in 2026.
• The 2026 estimate is about 27% above the $52.1 billion estimated for 2025.
• The estimate allocates reported project costs of active and under-construction facilities over time.
• Google announced a $40 billion investment in Texas on November 14, 2025, which will bring three new data center campuses to the state and boost cloud and AI infrastructure.
• Governor Abbott’s office called it Google’s largest investment in any state in the U.S.
• National data center construction spending figures give the wider context for these Texas estimates.

Texas Data Center Sales Tax Exemption

• A qualifying data center, as the Texas Comptroller defines it, is a Texas facility of at least 100,000 square feet specifically constructed or refurbished to house servers and related equipment.
• Qualifying items are temporarily exempt from the 6.25% state sales and use tax, while local sales and use taxes are still due.
• The exemption runs 10 years from certification for a capital investment of at least $200 million but less than $250 million within the first five years, and 15 years for at least $250 million.
• The Comptroller’s revenue-loss estimate reaches $1.753 billion by 2030, about 73% above its fiscal 2025 estimate.
• Dividing the $1.305 billion 2026 estimate by the 6.25% state rate implies about $20.88 billion of exempt purchases in 2026.

Key finding: Baker Institute analysis divides the Comptroller’s estimates by the 6.25% state sales-tax rate to imply $16.25 billion of exempt purchases in 2025 and $28.05 billion in 2030. The 2025 implied purchases are approximately 31% of the $52.1 billion investment estimate, and the paper finds investment estimates broadly consistent with the Comptroller’s forecast.

How much does the Texas data center tax break cost?

The Comptroller estimates revenue losses of $1.016 billion in fiscal 2025, $1.305 billion in 2026 and $1.753 billion by 2030. The exemption covers only the state sales and use tax, so local sales and use taxes are due on purchases of qualifying items.

Texas Data Center Property Tax Base

• Baker Institute analysis puts the industry’s current tax base at approximately $39.79 billion in market value and $32.18 billion in taxable value.
• The $7.61 billion difference implies that taxable value is 80.9% of market value.
• The paper treats that gap as a screen for exemptions, value limitations and abatements, not a count of agreements.
• The Comptroller’s June 2026 survey covered 117 of 253 appraisal districts and stated that the partial response substantially understated statewide value.

Texas Data Center Water Use

• Existing data centers in Texas consume an estimated 25 billion gallons of water annually for electricity generation and cooling systems, according to a January 21, 2026 HARC white paper.
• By 2030 that figure could rise to as much as 161 billion gallons per year, potentially representing up to 2.7% of the state’s total water use.
• The upper end is about 6.4 times today’s estimated use.
• HARC says the Texas State Water Plan relies largely on historical data and does not currently account for the growth of data centers.
• Governor Abbott’s August 3, 2026 audit directive asks for projected annual and peak water consumption, anticipated sources of water supply and the cooling technology each facility will use.

How much water do Texas data centers use?

HARC says existing data centers in Texas consume an estimated 25 billion gallons of water a year for electricity generation and cooling, a figure that could rise to between 29 billion gallons and 161 billion gallons per year by 2030. National data center water usage estimates use different scopes, so compare them with care.

Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin-San Antonio Data Center Markets

• Dallas-Fort Worth had 39.6 MW of available capacity in CBRE Research’s Q2 2026 data, about 2.8% of its 1,432.8 MW inventory.
• Under-construction activity in Austin-San Antonio totaled 462.0 MW in CBRE’s first-half 2025 market profile.
• Developers are focused on the northeast suburbs of Austin for available land served by Oncor, and interest has pushed activity south of Austin into Lower Colorado River Authority territory.
• Regional utility providers are receiving historically large power requests.
• The Austin-San Antonio figures date from the first half of 2025, so they are more than 12 months old.

Source: CBRE Research, H1 2025 and Q2 2026

Stargate Abilene Data Center Statistics

• Epoch AI estimates the OpenAI Stargate Abilene campus has 421 MW of current IT power, with 843 MW projected.
• Projected IT power is about 2.0 times the current level.
• Epoch AI puts the projected cost at $31.9 billion.
• Epoch AI lists Nvidia B200 and Nvidia B300 hardware and an air-cooled chiller for the site.
• Stargate Abilene is a Texas example of the AI data center build-out, and its figures are third-party estimates rather than company disclosures.

Source: Epoch AI, October 2026

Conclusion

ERCOT is tracking approximately 474 GW of large loads seeking interconnection, and about 90% of them are data centers. Batch Zero has conditionally classified 194.3 GW of that load, while existing data centers in Texas already consume an estimated 25 billion gallons of water annually. The gap between requested and conditionally classified load is the figure to watch, because no Batch Zero classification is final and energization approvals for large data centers are paused.

ERCOT says the verification and audit process will have a TBD impact on the Batch Zero timeline, and it has concerns with using its preliminary load forecast values for transmission and resource adequacy analysis. Final Batch Zero classifications and any adjusted load forecast will show how much of the queue becomes connected demand, and which communities carry the water and tax costs.