Texas Data Center Audit Set to Throttle New Capacity Approvals
On August 4th, Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered an audit of all data center projects in the state's interconnection queue. This move will likely throttle new capacity approvals, which could boost the value of existing Bitcoin mining and AI sites with ERCOT-approved power.
The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and grid operator ERCOT have paused their 'Batch Zero' process due to the audit. This review of large electricity users was scheduled to release classification results this month.
Data center requests currently make up 90% of ERCOT's 474 GW interconnection queue, with Cipher Digital, CleanSpark, and Core Scientific being among the companies most affected by the audit.
Analysts at Bernstein believe that approved capacity is not affected, but new approvals will be delayed. They pointed to Terawulf, Riot Platforms, and IREN as beneficiaries of this situation, citing their large operational footprints already approved by ERCOT.