Texas is the only state in the lower 48 that has no major connections to neighboring power grids. That means growing energy demand in Texas must be met by new power generation in Texas.

Texas has not improved energy efficiency standards since the 2021 blackout, and have resisted all attempts at increasing the governance of the gas generation.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas' "Capacity, Demand and Reserves report" even details a scenario in which massive energy demand growth in the state surpasses available supply in 2026.

https://www.ercot.com/files/docs/2025/02/12/CapacityDemandan...

Now add data centre demand in a climate where passive-cooling isn't viable and inter-state redundancy is non-existent.

The gas generators are what make the hum that people complain about; I'd expect the outside of a data center to be quiet without those.

Better for the extra natural gas to power data centers than to "accidentally" leak into the atmosphere .