Texas Governor-elect Hinojosa Calls for Pause on New Data Centers

Community protections and a proposed pause

Speaking to CNN on Thursday, Hinojosa said rural communities were increasingly attracting data center projects without sufficient rules to protect residents. Reuters reported that she called for a temporary halt to new developments and said communities should have a role in decisions about how facilities are built and operated.

The Democrat defeated Republican incumbent Greg Abbott in Tuesday's gubernatorial election after campaigning on a pledge to suspend new data center projects pending safeguards. Her stance has attracted the attention of the industry in Texas, where several major technology companies are based.

Texas ranks among the world's largest hubs for data center development, drawing investment with available energy, relatively inexpensive land and business-friendly policies. KVUE reported that, as of late September 2026, the state had 335 operating data centers and at least 248 more projects planned or under development.

Residents' concerns over water and land

Local resistance to expansion has grown around concerns about electricity demand, water consumption, wildlife and public access to federal land. An August 2026 poll found that 57% of Texas voters opposed a data center being built in their community. Opposition included 43% of Republicans, 75% of Democrats and 54% of independents, according to The Verge. San Marcos, about 30 miles outside Austin, became the first Texas city to ban data centers.

Two research estimates describe the industry's water use and its potential growth. A University of Texas at Austin study released in May 2026 put data centers' current share of state water use below 0.5%. With continued expansion, the study projected that share could reach 3% to 9% by 2040, KVUE reported.

The Houston Advanced Research Center estimated that Texas data centers used about 25 billion gallons in 2025, or roughly 0.4% of the state's total water consumption. Its projection put the industry's possible share at as much as 2.7% of annual state water use by 2030, according to The Verge.

Grid requests and existing state measures

The scale of proposed electricity demand is reflected in ERCOT's interconnection queue. As of June 2026, the grid operator was tracking approximately 474.7 GW of requests from large electricity users, including about 420.8 GW, or 90.2%, from data centers. Those figures came from ERCOT testimony to the Texas Senate on July 29, as reported by POWER Magazine.

The data center requests represented more than five times Texas's record peak electricity demand. ERCOT recorded its all-time hourly peak of 91,089 MW on July 22, 2026.

Abbott has already moved to limit new data center connections to the Texas grid and ordered a comprehensive audit of the projects. At the federal level, President Donald Trump has strongly backed data center expansion as a national priority.

ERCOT has also introduced a process for approving large users' connection requests in groups, becoming the first U.S. Independent System Operator to do so. Its first group, "Batch Zero," began in July 2026. The framework applies to individual sites with peak electricity demand above 75 MW; ERCOT's board adopted it on June 2, 2026, and the Public Utility Commission of Texas approved it on June 18.

Relations with Musk and his Texas businesses

Hinojosa said Texas could continue working positively with Elon Musk and his companies, provided that cooperation follows her incoming administration's policies and regulations. SpaceX and Tesla are headquartered in Texas, and Musk also plans to establish a chip manufacturing business in the state.

Musk backed Abbott in the election. On Wednesday, he said he had spent $158 million supporting Republican candidates in U.S. elections, including Senate candidate Ken Paxton. Hinojosa's campaign separately said Musk contributed $5.5 million to Abbott during this election cycle, making him the governor's largest donor.

In October 2026, Hinojosa sued Abbott for access to his private communications with Musk. A judge ordered Abbott on October 27 to stop blocking her access.

Boca Chica land talks during the transition

Hinojosa has also asked state officials to hold off on action involving Boca Chica State Park during the transfer of power. At a Thursday press conference, she said she had spoken with the executive director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission and requested that no decisions or actions concerning the park proceed during the transition.

Her request followed an October report by Texas Monthly, which cited several people familiar with discussions about a possible sale of the park to SpaceX. The reported talks concerned about 1,300 acres of public land in Cameron County, including the park's more than 1,055 acres of beach and coastal habitat.

Starbase, which became a city in 2025, has annexed more than 7,100 acres, much of that area covering the park. Annexation does not transfer ownership of the land.

An earlier proposed exchange did not go ahead. In 2024, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission approved a deal under which SpaceX would receive 43 acres of the park and provide 477 acres near the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. SpaceX later withdrew.

A separate federal land exchange remained in place after a judge declined to block it in September 2026. Under that swap, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will transfer 715 acres of refuge land to SpaceX in return for 683 acres of private land.

SpaceX had not responded to Reuters' request for comment when its report was published.