Texas Ranks First on Power. A 5,500-Person Town Decides the Water.

Texas just topped the new 50-state Data Center Readiness Index on power and permitting speed, but Sinton's 5,500 residents, Hood County's split commission, and Dallas's mid-revision zoning code are deciding what gets built. Developers entering with signed water offsets, third-party noise monitoring, and benefit-sharing structures capture the window; the rest fund the litigation that tightens rules for everyone.