Artificial intelligence is transforming the American economy, but its explosive growth comes with a hidden cost: skyrocketing demand for electricity and water that is now straining Texas communities and reshaping the state’s most closely watched Senate race.

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From Fox News:

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton unveiled a four-point plan to regulate the state’s rapidly expanding AI data-center industry, amid growing concerns about rising electricity and water costs. Paxton’s federal proposals include two Senate bills restricting Chinese technology in data centers and American infrastructure, criminal liability for companies whose data centers power AI chatbots that endanger children, and co-sponsoring Sen. Tom Cotton’s DATA Act, which would establish a federal data-center category for facilities generating independent power off existing grids.

At the state level, Paxton supports repealing data-center sales-tax exemptions, despite having voted for a 100% exemption in 2013 while serving in the Texas Senate. That earlier exemption required a $200 million initial investment and employment commitments and helped fuel the current industry boom. Paxton has also thrown his support behind Gov. Greg Abbott’s directive requiring data centers to disclose power use, independent-power plans, water consumption, financial incentives, and community-impact mitigation efforts.

Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico has offered a competing set of proposals, including repealing state tax exemptions, requiring data centers to pay 100% of grid-connection costs, mandating closed-loop water recycling, and allowing local governments to veto developments. The two campaigns have also traded accusations over industry money: Paxton has accused Talarico of accepting data-center-affiliated funding, pointing to roughly $10 million his Lone Star Rising PAC received from LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman. Talarico’s campaign has fired back, accusing Paxton of accepting nearly $500,000 from PACs backed by data-center companies while ignoring Hood County residents opposing a local development.

The data-center boom in Texas is not abstract. These facilities consume enormous amounts of electricity around the clock to keep servers cool and running, and their rapid proliferation has raised real alarms about strain on the state’s power grid. Texas already operates its own independent power grid through ERCOT, which came under intense scrutiny after a deadly 2021 winter storm exposed its vulnerabilities. Adding massive new industrial power consumers without a clear plan for how they will be powered and paid for puts ordinary Texans at risk of higher utility bills and grid instability.

Water consumption is the other major concern driving community opposition. AI data centers rely on large volumes of water for cooling systems, and in a state that regularly faces drought conditions, that competition for a limited resource is already generating pushback from local residents. Hood County, cited specifically in the article, is one example of a community where residents have organized against a proposed development, only to feel ignored by the politicians they elected.

The money-in-politics dimension of this race adds another layer of complexity. Both Paxton and Talarico have accepted funding from interests tied to the data-center industry, even as both campaign on holding that same industry accountable. Recent polling shows a majority of Texans oppose unchecked data-center expansion, signaling that voters are paying close attention and that this issue will likely define the race through Election Day.

As believers, we are called to be faithful stewards of God’s creation and to advocate for the vulnerable communities bearing the costs of decisions made by the powerful (Genesis 2:15, Proverbs 31:8-9). Pray for wisdom and integrity for every leader navigating this issue, that Texas’s land, water, and power grid would be protected for the families who depend on them, and that voters would have clear and truthful information as they choose who will represent them in this consequential Senate race.

How are you praying about this issue? Share your prayers and scriptures in the comments below.

(Excerpt from Fox News. Photo Credit: Cnv Studio/Canva).