Governor Abbott Orders TCEQ to Pause All Permit Issuance for Data Center Projects

The useful part

On September 21, 2026, Governor Abbott ordered the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to "halt all permits sought by data centers. Addressed to outgoing Executive Director Kelly Keel, the order would apply to all data center projects in the State of Texas in the middle of any TCEQ permitting process. TCEQ must report to the Governor's office on its compliance with the order by Monday, October 19, 2026.

How it works

• So long as the order is in effect, TCEQ will not issue any permits "related to data center projects." Permit issuance is paused regardless of whether an applicant is in ERCOT's interconnection queue.
• The order thus affects all data centers, even those that plan to rely entirely on "behind-the-meter" generation without interconnecting with the ERCOT grid.
• Governor Abbott's order effectively pauses all data center development in the state until mid-December, which is when ERCOT anticipates completing the aforementioned data center audit.
• Because the order pauses all permits "related to data center projects," the order may apply well beyond data center project developers themselves.
• Co-located and behind-the-meter generation developers that intend to serve data centers face a permitting pause that may extend to several types of permits upon which their construction, operations.

What to take from it

However, as a result of this order any such facilities that have not already been granted a...

Details worth keeping

This "pause" will be in effect until ERCOT completes its review of data centers moving through the interconnection process that Governor Abbott directed the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and ERCOT to undertake on August 3, 2026.