By Rita Cook
Correspondent
Texas Metro News
AUSTIN – While Nate Sheets defeated three-term incumbent Sid Miller in the GOP primary for Texas agriculture commissioner, Miller is still leading the state as the current Texas Agriculture Commissioner attempting to protect the state’s farmland and critical resources amid rapid industrial growth.
Someone must do it.
In mid-May Miller put out an editorial “For the Future of Texas, Pause Data Centers.”
With the intense scrutiny on data centers right now, some might be disappointed he did not win his primary.
He said, “Right now, we need an honest conversation about the explosive growth of hyperscale data centers that are rapidly consuming our land, water, and power.
It is time for a temporary moratorium on new hyperscale data center development in Texas until we fully assess the long-term impacts on our infrastructure, agricultural economy, and communities. We must not surrender our resources to global corporations without asking hard questions about the costs to Texas families, farmers, ranchers, and property owners.
These facilities are rising at breakneck speed across rural Texas, drawn by cheap land, reliable energy, and a pro-business climate. What began as promising economic development is quickly becoming a severe strain on the systems Texans depend on daily.
Many consume enough electricity to power entire towns. They draw massive volumes of water for cooling, even amid ongoing drought. Rural communities that have conserved resources for generations now compete with corporate giants that can transform entire regions overnight.”
In early June Sheets who will be on the November ticket for the Republican party for Texas agriculture commissioner and is not in agreement with Miller’s data center idea told the Texasstandard.org “The data centers are coming whether we like it or not. We need to take advantage of it, and what role can they play in helping to fund water programs that we can really work on, trying to take the 26 billion barrels of produced water that come out of the Permian Basin on a daily basis and clean that up and even be able to use it into agriculture. So, if we can look at those data centers as a resourcing option for us, then it could be a good thing.”
Good thing or not, Miller believes Texans deserve answers before the data center mania continues.
Answers like:
- How much will these projects stress the ERCOT grid during summer peaks or winter storms?
- What happens to property values and local infrastructure when prime farmland becomes industrial server farms?
- How much ground and surface water will be depleted?
- Who truly benefits from the tax incentives?
- And when agriculture’s needs collide with those of global tech giants, whose interests prevail?
He pointed out “These are not hypothetical questions. In Georgia, residents erupted after a data center reportedly used nearly 30 million gallons of water during drought.”
Miller would like to see a temporary moratorium, which he is not “anti-business or anti-innovation. It creates breathing room for lawmakers, regulators, utilities, water experts, landowners, and agriculture to craft responsible guardrails before the industry outgrows our ability to manage it.”
He points out that President Trump’s “America First” philosophy applies here. Economic development must benefit working Texans and strengthen our communities, not overwhelm them. “Texans demand balance: a data center policy that safeguards our resources, economy, and way of life. A temporary moratorium is not anti-progress. It is pro-Texas,” and Miller hopes he can accomplish this before his time in office ends.
Rita Cook is a world traveler and writer/editor who specializes in writing on travel, auto, crime and politics. A correspondent for Texas Metro News, she has published 11 books and has also produced low-budget films.
