Across Texas, a new fight over the state’s economic future is taking shape.
In San Marcos, residents packed chambers to oppose a data center campus. In Hood County, commissioners debated pausing large industrial projects. Near Dinosaur Valley and the Paluxy River, neighbors organized over power concerns. In San Antonio and along the I-35 corridor, clusters of data center projects have sparked questions about grid capacity. Iron Mountain is even eyeing its first project—potentially in Williamson County.
These are not isolated issues. They all point to a large question: will Texas welcome the infrastructure of the digital economy? Too often, these debates unfold without a clear sense of what’s being built. These facilities are not niche tech projects. They are critical infrastructure—the backbone of the digital economy.
And it adds up: Meta recently announced a massive expansion of its data center in El Paso—now a $10 billion investment. The project is expected to bring roughly 300 permanent jobs and as many as 4,000 construction workers at peak buildout.
Texas has seen a boom like this before at a different moment in its history. It began with a drilling rig and the belief that beneath the ground lay something powerful enough to transform towns, industries, and our nation’s economy.
Oil didn’t look like prosperity at first. It was messy and disruptive, bringing noise, traffic, and new infrastructure into places not yet accustomed to it. But Texans understood the payoff: jobs, tax revenue, and lasting economic growth that reshaped communities across the state.
Another boom is underway—the data center boom. But because it doesn’t resemble past booms, and isn’t early in Texas’ history, some struggle to recognize it as one. But make no mistake: the opportunity for the state’s economy is enormous.
Inside these facilities are the systems that power payroll for Texas businesses, logistics networks, financial transactions, artificial intelligence development, telehealth visits, and government operations. Every search query, cloud backup, and digital payment relies on this backbone.
Texas sits at the center of this expansion. The state hosts 400 data centers, and demand is expected to rise sharply as AI, advanced manufacturing, and digital commerce grow. Globally, investment in data-center infrastructure could approach $7 trillion by the end of the decade.
If oil powered the industrial age, data powers the digital one. While no one is drilling new wells in the middle of established neighborhoods today, the scale of economic transformation is comparable. And, like oil, data has to live somewhere.
Data centers bring billions in investment to Texas communities. They strengthen tax bases, support school districts, and create large construction workforces and long-term technical careers. They reinforce Texas’s position as America’s leading energy state and an emerging technology powerhouse.
The answer is not for the government to micromanage growth but to stay focused on keeping markets open and infrastructure moving. Addressing concerns about water and energy costs doesn’t require new mandates, only clear rules and room for markets to work.
State policymakers should approach this moment with confidence. Turning away this investment will have consequences beyond local zoning disputes. It would affect economic growth, fiscal stability, and America’s broader technological competitiveness.
Texas has succeeded by trusting property rights, competition, and private investment over centralized planning. Lawmakers should focus on transparency, faster approvals, expanded energy supply, and market signals that enable responsible growth.
Oil made Texas indispensable to the American economy. Data can do it again. And, in El Paso, it’s already breaking ground.