Texas election puts the future of a data center permit pause in focusMachine translation

Goldman Sachs warns Democratic successes in state and local elections could lead to temporary construction moratoria hitting 45% of planned US data center capacity, with Texas alone representing approximately 25% of planned additions. Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa ran on a pledge to halt new permits until legislators set up safeguards for power, water and local communities, a stance Jefferies estimates puts 13.3 GW of announced projects in Texas at risk.

Nebius Group fell as much as 5% after the Texas vote, though it discloses no data centers there. Democrat Gina Hinojosa unseated Governor Greg Abbott after campaigning for an immediate data center pause until lawmakers set safeguards. Wells Fargo estimates Texas holds 27% of planned U.S. data center capacity, so investors dumped GPU cloud stocks together, sending CoreWeave down 7%. Nebius’s announced U.S. sites are in Missouri, Pennsylvania, Alabama and Vineland, New Jersey, which serves its $17.4B Microsoft contract through 2031. Texas development was already frozen: in September, Abbott halted every state data center permit until a grid audit expected in December. So the vote mostly decides whether that freeze lifts after the audit or lasts until lawmakers write new rules. A longer freeze could raise the value of power Nebius holds elsewhere, such as the dedicated utility supply behind its planned 1.2GW Pennsylvania campus. Nebius faces more risk from the incoming Democratic Congress, where Goldman Sachs strategists see tax-incentive limits as possible but a national moratorium as unlikely.