Texas has halted connections of data centers to the power grid amid high demand, according to Governor Abbott’s directive. The directive requires increased scrutiny of measures such as noise mitigation, light controls, setbacks, traffic improvements and emergency response coordination, but it omits assessment of air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, Floodlight reported. The pause does not apply to data center projects that generate power on site, a behind‑the‑meter strategy adopted by companies including Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, Oracle, OpenAI and Anthropic, CleanView noted. Such on‑site power typically relies on natural gas, but supply constraints have led developers to use mobile gas generators on trucks and aeroderivative turbines, CleanView said. Texas leads the United States in announced behind‑the‑meter capacity with 40 gigawatts, driven by the Permian Basin gas supply and extensive pipeline infrastructure, CleanView reported. ERCOT officials said they will postpone the Batch Zero grid connection process while working with state regulators to carry out the directive, complicating ERCOT’s plans to bring data centers online.