The Texas AI Boom Has a Catch. And It's Not What You Think

Texas is leading the nation in proposed AI data centers. It is also leading the nation in proposed natural gas power plants to fuel them. Those two facts arrived in the same week.

I've been following the DFW AI infrastructure story for months. Wistron at AllianceTexas. Lambda's $700M facility in Plano. 248 data centers in the pipeline across the state. It reads like a flywheel that can't be stopped. But this week, Governor Abbott told utilities to charge data centers for their own infrastructure costs and announced AI regulation as a 2027 legislative priority. That was not in the brochure and not on my bingo card!

There's a pattern here that firms should recognize. Infrastructure booms generate backlash when they externalize costs. Texas built its competitive advantage on deregulation and low friction. AI data centers stress-test both at scale. The firms and consultants who get ahead of this won't be the ones shouting loudest about Texas's AI momentum. They'll be the ones helping clients think through power strategy, regulatory risk, and impact before the legislature makes those conversations mandatory. The era of frictionless Texas AI expansion may be shorter than most projections assumed. That said, it still feels like we're winning, and I'm proud to be a part of it.