Texas audit delays expansion projects, boosts value for Iris Energy and Riot Platforms

Texas just hit the pause button on its data center gold rush, and the companies that already secured their spot at the table are quietly celebrating. Governor Greg Abbott directed the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and ERCOT to conduct a comprehensive audit of every data center project sitting in the state’s interconnection queue. The move effectively freezes new projects until regulators can verify power demand, water usage, ownership structures, incentive claims, and regulatory compliance for each one. A queue that got way out of hand Texas’s interconnection queue currently exceeds 474 GW of requested capacity. To put that in perspective, the entire US electric grid has roughly 1,300 GW of installed generating capacity. Texas alone is fielding requests equivalent to more than a third of the nation’s total power supply. Approximately 90% of that queue comes from data center projects. Abbott’s directive, issued on August 3, specifically targets non-viable and speculative projects that threaten grid reliability. Projects that fail to meet PUCT and ERCOT specifications will be denied grid access entirely. A prior directive from June mandated that data centers cover their o...