My point wasn't that the state would be more responsive than the local to community expectations, it was that it is reasonable for the state to set minimum requirements before a data center can be built. Electrical and water consumption is not a hyper local issue. A large energy or water demand is more often than not going to impact more than the individual county where it is constructed. If a 5 GW data center project is proposed for Bastrop County it is going to impact more than just Bastrop County so ensuring consequences are mitigated for surrounding counties to a minimum standard is appropriate and then Bastrop County can negotiate the overlays above the minimum.
Requiring that a data center of a specific size threshold has to supply their own energy is an entirely reasonable expectation and one that most of the large data center projects are entirely accepting of. Whether that energy is supplied through locally generated power or through batteries that bridge the period of the narrowest segment in difference between energy generation and demand.
In the ideal ERCOT's power consumption flattens over time with large energy demand projects time shifting productive capacity from low utilization periods to higher utilization periods. Charging large scale battery installations overnight/during peak renewable production and expending them in the evening. When production falls and demand remains elevated. An installation like that can result in a more stable grid that can accommodate shortfalls in production during high demand days by reducing data center consumption and back filling to the grid to cover shortfalls.
Requiring that a data center of a specific size threshold has to supply their own energy is an entirely reasonable expectation and one that most of the large data center projects are entirely accepting of. Whether that energy is supplied through locally generated power or through batteries that bridge the period of the narrowest segment in difference between energy generation and demand.
In the ideal ERCOT's power consumption flattens over time with large energy demand projects time shifting productive capacity from low utilization periods to higher utilization periods. Charging large scale battery installations overnight/during peak renewable production and expending them in the evening. When production falls and demand remains elevated. An installation like that can result in a more stable grid that can accommodate shortfalls in production during high demand days by reducing data center consumption and back filling to the grid to cover shortfalls.
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