Texas data center pause threatens 20% of US pipeline, risking billions in revenue

Governor Greg Abbott ordered a pause on new data center interconnections in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) on Aug. 3, 2026, calling for an audit of all projects in the interconnection queue. The moratorium covers roughly 49.8 GW of proposed capacity, which BloombergNEF estimates represents about 20 % of the United States' data‑center pipeline.

Analysts warn that delayed projects could forfeit up to $8 billion in leasing revenue by the first quarter of 2027, assuming 60 % of the postponed capacity would have supported AI workloads. BNEF projects about 1.2 GW of ERCOT data‑center additions between Q2 2026 and Q1 2027, with a total of roughly 8.25 GW expected by 2030. The ERCOT queue currently lists about 474 GW of requests, 90 % of which are data‑center proposals, far exceeding the grid’s peak‑demand record. If the pause extends into the 2027 legislative session, further policy changes could increase the risk of delays.