Data center boom could undo two decades of Texas air quality gains, Houston research group warns

The rush to build data centers in Texas could wipe out much of the progress the state has made cleaning its air, depending largely on how those facilities get their power, according to a report released Tuesday by the Houston Advanced Research Center.

The nonprofit's modeling looked at four ways data centers might be supplied with electricity over the next five years and estimated the pollution each would produce, the Texas Tribune reported.

Gains at risk

Texas cut its major air pollutants sharply from 2002 to 2024, even as its population grew by millions and its economy roughly doubled, the report found, drawing on federal and state emissions data. HARC credits much of that to more wind and solar power, pollution controls on industry and vehicles, and the retirement of coal plants.

Under the report's cleanest scenario, with data centers drawing from the grid and adding wind and solar on site, statewide nitrogen oxide emissions would still rise 35% by 2031 because of the sheer amount of power the industry would use. If data centers instead generate their own electricity with natural gas, those emissions could climb nearly 400%.

In a scenario that leans on natural gas plants, the report projects nitrogen oxides up 136% by 2031, close to 2004 levels, volatile organic compounds 32% above their 2002 level and fine particle pollution at levels not seen since 2006. The Tribune noted that long-term exposure to nitrogen oxides can damage the respiratory system and lead to chronic lung disease.

Why the power source matters

Carlos Gamarra, HARC's vice president for energy, air and IT, told the Tribune that operators facing three- to five-year waits to connect to the state grid often build their own generation instead, and do not always pick the cleanest option. On-site gas engines put out about four times as much nitrogen oxide as grid power for the same facility, he said.

The state grid operator, ERCOT, received more than 500 requests from large power users in the last two years, many of them data centers, compared with about two dozen the year before. Gov. Greg Abbott has paused new data center grid connections pending an audit of power, water and community impacts.

Dallas-Fort Worth is among the Texas metro areas that often struggle to meet federal air standards, largely because of traffic, vehicle exhaust and summer heat, the Tribune noted.

Gamarra said data centers should be held to the same emissions standards as other industrial and power plants, and that operators could disclose their power use and sources so communities can weigh the effects before projects are approved. HARC has been a financial supporter of the Tribune, the news organization disclosed.

Sources

The Texas Tribune