Texas grid

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Texas Turns AI Data Centers Into a Grid-Admission Audit

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott directed PUCT and ERCOT on August 3, 2026 to conduct a comprehensive verification and audit of data centers advancing through ERCOT’s interconnection process before those projects move forward. The order lands amid roughly 474 gigawatts of large-load requests to connect to the Texas grid, with the governor’s office saying about 90% of new power requests are data centers. The move reframes AI-era data centers as strategic infrastructure applicants rather than ordinary load growth.

Published Aug 7, 2026 Article · related

Google Builds the Power Plant Into the AI Factory

Google and Intersect Power announced construction of the Meitner Energy Center in Gray and Roberts Counties, Texas, pairing a new Google data center with dedicated new energy generation. Independent reporting says the project includes more than 1 gigawatt of wind, solar, and battery storage, with some on-site gas for firming and air cooling to limit water use. The strategic read: the AI bottleneck is shifting from chips alone to controllable energy access.

Published Jun 7, 2026 Article · related

AI Loads Fail the Texas Grid’s Ride-Through Test

Reuters reported on June 5, 2026 that several large data centers and crypto facilities seeking to connect to the Texas grid failed key voltage reliability tests. ERCOT’s May 21 assessment found eight planned large loads totaling about 3.9 GW, modeled within roughly 20 GW of large-load representation, and identified four trip groups that could exceed the 3,200 MW threshold while not meeting NOGRR282 voltage ride-through requirements. The signal is that AI-era power risk is no longer only about finding enough megawatts; it is also about whether those megawatts stay connected through ordinary grid faults.

Published Jun 7, 2026