North Texas Data Centers

What Could Data Centers Mean for North Texas Communities?

Data centers provide the computing infrastructure behind cloud services, artificial intelligence, online applications, financial systems, streaming services and many of the digital tools people use every day.

As more large facilities are proposed throughout Texas, residents, businesses and local governments are considering both their potential economic benefits and questions surrounding electricity, water, infrastructure and surrounding development.

The purpose of this resource is not to promote or oppose data center construction. Our goal is to collect useful information, explain the issues in understandable language and help North Texas residents ask informed questions about projects proposed near their communities.

Why Are Data Centers Being Built in North Texas?

Developers consider many factors when selecting a location for a data center. North Texas offers access to a major metropolitan area along with extensive electrical, telecommunications and transportation infrastructure.

How Much Electricity Do Data Centers Use?

Electricity demand can vary widely depending on the size and purpose of a facility. Large data centers can require considerably more electricity than conventional commercial buildings because servers operate continuously and require supporting cooling equipment.

For North Texas communities, useful questions include the proposed facility’s expected electrical demand, whether additional transmission infrastructure will be required and whether the project will incorporate any on-site generation.

What About Data Center Noise?

Data centers contain cooling equipment, transformers, generators and other mechanical systems that can produce sound.

The impact experienced at nearby properties can depend on equipment type, facility design, sound barriers, terrain, setbacks and the distance between the facility and neighboring homes.

Data Centers Are Part of a Larger Development Conversation

North Texas communities are simultaneously experiencing residential, commercial and industrial growth. Data centers are one part of that larger development picture.

A project that works well in one location may present different considerations somewhere else. Facility size, available infrastructure, surrounding land use and proximity to residential areas can all affect a project’s local impact.

For that reason, reviewing the characteristics of an individual project is often more informative than making assumptions based only on the words data center.

Data Centers in Texas: What Exists and What Is Planned

Below is a summary of publicly reported data centers that are operating, under construction or proposed in North Texas and across the state. Inclusion on this list is not an endorsement of, or objection to, any project.

Project details change often. Capacity, investment and timeline figures are as reported by the cited sources and may differ from final plans. Some proposals are revised, delayed or withdrawn before construction begins.

Counts vary widely between trackers. Cleanview lists 147 operating and 386 planned projects; Google cited 411 Texas data centers in November 2025. A request in the ERCOT queue does not mean a project will be built. Many requests are speculative or duplicative, which is one reason the state ordered an audit in August 2026 (see below).

North Texas: Operating, Under Construction & Proposed

The Dallas-Fort Worth region is one of the largest data center markets in the country. Ellis County has been reported as leading all Texas counties in requested power.

Not a complete list. Smaller enterprise and colocation facilities across Dallas, Collin, Denton and Tarrant counties are not individually listed.

Major Projects Elsewhere in Texas

Many of the largest projects are being built outside major metros, often paired with on-site or dedicated power generation.

Recent Developments That May Affect These Plans

• August 2026 · Statewide State audit of data center grid requests. Governor Abbott directed the PUC and ERCOT to audit data center interconnection requests, including ownership, financing, water use and community impact. ERCOT has said new data center interconnections are effectively paused while roughly 300 projects of 75 MW or more are reviewed. The audit is targeted for completion by December 10, 2026.
• August 2026 · Fort Worth Moratorium process started. The Fort Worth City Council voted unanimously to begin the process for a 90-day pause on new data center construction and created a Data Center and Infrastructure Commission. State law requires public hearings and two readings before a moratorium can take effect.
• July 2026 · Hunt County Royse City-area proposal changes hands. GIGA took over the proposed CR 2656 project and held a community town hall. A similar application in Quinlan was withdrawn earlier.
• Spring 2026 · Collin County Cities update zoning rules. Wylie approved a 59.8-acre rezoning in April that included limits on data center use. Princeton staff began evaluating zoning amendments to regulate data centers in June.

Information Without Taking Sides

Lavon Insurance Agency serves families and businesses throughout North Texas. We believe useful community information should help people better understand an issue rather than tell them what position they should take.

Our goal with this resource is to collect publicly available information, identify credible sources and explain complicated issues in understandable language.

Figures concerning individual projects can change during planning and construction. Investment amounts, electrical demand, water requirements, employment and project schedules should therefore be verified against the most recent source documents.