Texas State Sen. Charles Perry recently wrote that AI data centers are a “net positive” for citizens and the economy as long as they’re properly vetted. Residents of Abilene and Childress, both located in his district, might beg to differ.
The time for vetting was well before several data centers were already being built across District 28.
We need leaders who ensure local communities are protected before billion-dollar projects break ground.
Massive data center buildouts in areas like West Texas have caused more immediate, on-the-ground, negative impacts on regular folks.
Rent spikes, water and energy cost increases, housing shortages, and homelessness to name a few, and the construction on many of the data centers is still underway which means more pressure on locals who are being priced out of their own towns.
I don’t see handing over West Texans’ water and farmland, while decreasing their quality of life for an industry that Charles himself admits needs more vetting as a ‘net positive.’ At this point, we need a moratorium.
More massive buildouts are putting immense pressure on regular folks. Rents are spiking, bills are spiking, people are being run out of their towns and we don’t even have clear answers on the full environmental impacts yet. Texans deserve concrete answers to the questions and concerns they have about these data centers and residents who are being displaced and priced out of their homes need some relief and support.
Until we get it they’ll need to turn the bulldozers off. The people whose stories I’ve heard from their front porches and apartment doors, the people that have stopped me in a Lowes aisle to tell me how it’s hurt their local small business, and the people I know personally struggling to stay afloat are hurting now; they don’t have the luxury of waiting.”
Recent developments in Childress prove the point. Residents there saw rent spikes due to the inflated rates offered to house workers when a data center project came to town. In Abilene, the story is similar. Many residents have seen their rent surge by around a thousand dollars, with some having to move out due to unaffordability. Even hotel rooms are hitting three- to four-hundred dollars a night. We are getting the short end of the stick in favor of accommodating data centers and those who profit from them.
It won’t just be in Childress or Abilene; there are plans for data centers across the state that are leaving citizens with unanswered questions. What will these facilities truly mean for the water supply, power grid, and the health of our communities?
As the massive buildouts rapidly upend the everyday quality of life for District 28 residents, I am pushing for a better path forward focused on the people of West Texas, and it starts with a moratorium on data center development.
Riley Rodriquez is the Democratic candidate running for the Lubbock-and-Abilene-based Texas State Senate District 28 in the November election. He faces incumbent Republican State Sen. Charles Perry.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: SD 28 Democrat Rodriquez responds to Perry column on AI data centers
Reporting by By Riley Rodriquez, special for the Avalanche-Journal / Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Riley Rodriquez, special for the Avalanche-Journal | USA TODAY Network
