Vol. 2 [Texas News] 🏙️Texas Positioned to Lead Global Data Center Expansion as AI Buildout Accelerates

• A new analysis from Jones Lang LaSalle projects that Texas could overtake Northern Virginia by 2030 as the largest data center market worldwide, signaling a major geographic shift in US digital infrastructure (Business Insider).
• The report notes that a majority of new construction is now occurring beyond long-established tech corridors, with Texas joined by Tennessee, Ohio, and Wisconsin as rapidly growing destinations (Business Insider).
• Texas alone accounts for roughly 6.5 gigawatts of capacity under active development — about 20% of the 35 gigawatts that have entered the US construction queue, a volume comparable to the annual electricity consumption of entire European countries. (Business Insider).
• The four dominant tech platforms — Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Meta — are collectively forecast to direct over $600 billion into AI-related infrastructure spending this year alone. (Business Insider).
• The industry's geographic spread reflects a strategic search for states offering grid capacity, affordable acreage, and competitive fiscal arrangements, which has eroded the decades-long primacy of the Northern Virginia corridor. (Business Insider).
  
• Abilene, Texas—home to the high-profile Stargate AI data center initiative—illustrates both the economic promise and the potential strain associated with this growth (Business Insider; TIME).
• Local officials in Abilene anticipate increased business activity and future tax revenue linked to the project, even after substantial tax incentives were granted (TIME).
  
• At the same time, community leaders report that a surge of incoming construction workers has contributed to steep rent increases and intensified an already limited housing supply, affecting low-income residents most acutely (TIME).
• Housing authorities indicate that voucher recipients are encountering greater difficulty securing accommodation, and emergency shelter systems are under heightened pressure (TIME).
• Researchers and local advocates caution that large-scale data center development can create ripple effects—particularly in housing markets—highlighting the importance of planning for broader social impacts alongside infrastructure expansion (TIME).

(Sources: Business Insider; TIME)