Texas Developers Build Own Power Plants as Queue Rules Tighten

The interconnection queue stopped being a waiting room this week and became a sorting mechanism, and the developers who understand the difference are already building their own power plants.

The ERCOT Queue Becomes a Filter

Pablo Vegas told the House Committee on State Affairs that 410,000 megawatts of data center demand sit in ERCOT's queue, 87% of all incoming requests. Then on Friday, ERCOT filed a preliminary 2032 peak demand forecast of 367,790 MW with the PUCT, more than four times the August 2023 record, with both agencies immediately flagging the number as inflated. The signal underneath the noise: real demand is enormous, the methodology needs work, and the rules are being written right now.

The mechanics are taking shape:

• •A new batch interconnection process will rank projects, collect deposits, and reserve transmission capacity for the first time
• •Application fees authorized last session are designed to filter speculative filers from committed developers
• •Reps. Charlie Geren and John McQueeney flagged a constituent hit with a $24 million transmission charge on six days' notice; PUC Chair Thomas Gleeson committed to investigating

As the Monday briefing framed it, the era of holding transmission for projects without skin in the game is ending. Rules should be finalized before the 2027 session.

Behind-the-Meter Becomes the Baseline

Self-supply moved from contingency to default. Cleanview has identified 46 U.S. data center projects representing 56 GW of behind-the-meter capacity, 90% announced in 2025. The week's deal flow confirmed the shift: Oracle expanded its Bloom Energy fuel cell commitment to 2.8 GW, Microsoft signed 4.75 GW of off-grid gas including a 900 MW Crusoe complex in Abilene, and PROENERGY locked 650 MW with Crusoe. Lancium's Stargate Abilene campus is fully financed with Oracle on 15 years and Microsoft on 20.

The Wednesday and Friday editions documented the structural drivers: Microsoft lost up to 9 GW of grid reserves during its 2024 pullback, Oracle and Google took the slots, and energy chief Bobby Hollis departed March 31. Transformer lead times now run 128 weeks. As Saturday's briefing noted, nearly 40% of 2026 U.S. data center projects are running late per Ars Technica's satellite analysis.

Transparency Sorts the Approvals From the Moratoriums

Maine passed the first statewide moratorium on facilities above 20 MW (House 79-62, Senate 21-13), with Gov. Janet Mills holding signature until April 29. Eleven other states are advancing similar measures, and Data Center Watch now tracks $162 billion in delayed or blocked projects.

The contrast inside Texas tells the story:

• •Freebird Data Centers topped out Phase 1 of its $470 million Milam County campus with $13.5 million in PILOT payments and closed-loop commitments locked through tax abatement leverage
• •Aligned broke ground on the 540 MW Project Caprock in Hale County with DeltaFlow closed-loop cooling protecting the Ogallala
• •Beacon Data Centers couldn't specify end-use, water draw, or energy consumption at its Dove Creek meeting, with Commissioner Shawn Nanny calling it "an uprising"

Per Tuesday's briefing, Cameron County unanimously opposed open-loop evaporative cooling for Eneus Energy's $14 billion Harlingen project, and Mayor Norma Sepulveda is exploring a moratorium. As Thursday's edition made clear: vagueness at the feasibility stage hands opponents the calendar.

What to Watch

• •Gov. Mills's signature decision on Maine LD 307 by April 29
• •ERCOT's revised 2032 load forecast methodology and any PUCT guidance on the batch process timeline
• •San Angelo City Council's special meeting on Beacon Data Centers and Tom Green County's response
• •Cameron County's push for state legislation granting counties "meaningful participation" in data center permitting