Sid Miller blasts Abbott over Texas data center boom

The political fight over data centers is intensifying in Texas, as Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller accuses Gov. Greg Abbott of putting corporate interests ahead of Texans. 

Miller took to Facebook on Saturday with a sharply worded post alongside a photo of Abbott captioned: "He didn't care. When Greg Abbott put out the welcome mat for big data centers, he knew the problems it would cause, but he took their money anyway."

In the post, Miller said he has been sounding the alarm over the rapid expansion of data centers, arguing they threaten Texas' electric grid, water supply, ranches and farmland. He also accused state leadership of having "opened the door wide to an industry that now threatens our natural resources and infrastructure."

RELATED: Can Texas' identity outlast the data center takeover?

In response to Chron's request for comment, Abbott's office pointed to the governor's mid-June directive requiring data centers-not residential customers-to pay for the electric infrastructure they require while pursuing additional safeguards for water use, the electric grid and surrounding communities. 

But to Miller, it isn't enough. He called Abbott's directive "political pandering" and said the governor should have imposed a one-year moratorium on new data center developments-an idea Miller said Abbott never embraced. 

"There's no weight behind what he's saying," Miller told Chron on Monday. "It's just a dog and pony show to try to get, you know, the heat off of him before, before the election."

Miller also took aim at Abbott's campaign donors, arguing several have financial interests tied to major data center projects in Texas. Several of the governor's top contributors have invested in or have business interests connected to the state's booming data center industry, according to the Houston Chronicle. 

"Basically he's given a wink and a nod to his data center supporters…that…they've got plenty of time to get grandfathered in and get whatever they needed done, done before the legislature can pin them down," Miller said of Abbott. "By the way, he's taken several million dollars from the data center industry." 

The commissioner said the debate over data centers shouldn't be partisan and that he wants to see more Republicans take a stand alongside him. 

"Democrats are on it, and they're right, but the Republicans aren't embracing…putting a moratorium…on the data centers," Miller said. 

As for future conversations with Abbott, Miller isn't expecting much if the past is any indication. 

When asked what Abbott's response has been to concerns about data center development, Miller said it was the "same response [he's] gotten for the last 12 years."

"Nothing. I've never gotten a meeting with the guy. Never got a phone call or email returned. Nothing. Zero. Crickets," Miller said. "He's not a team player."

Some legislation is in the pipeline, and that data center development changes could ultimately change their strain on natural resources, but for now, Miller is saying he's putting Texas first-always. 

"[Rural Texans] need to be vocal," Miller said. "The only way you stop big corporations like Meta and Google and…the Abbott machine is, grassroots, speaking up, signing petitions, going to the town hall, writing letters and making calls to your elected officials."

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