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Attacks on data centers are dominating headlines, ranging from run of the mill environmental claims to obscure and even bizarre issues.
The broader dynamic should look familiar, because a very similar playbook was used against fracking.
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The broader dynamic should look familiar, because a very similar playbook was used against fracking.
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Steve Everley retweeted
🚨Abbott's AI Data Center Panic Will Carry A Big Cost for Texas
Texas is about to get a real-world lesson in the economic cost of saying “no” to data centers. Local officials - and the state's lame duck governor - are blocking or delaying projects over water, power, land use, e real, and most imagined. The intentions may be understandable, but the consequences are measurable in dollars and lost jobs.
Key points:
· Data centers deliver construction jobs, permanent high-wage technical and operations roles, and large property and sales tax bases.
· They drive private investment in grid upgrades, water systems, and broadband that benefits entire communities.
· When a county or city - or a governor - issues a moratorium or kills a project, those benefits often leave Texas entirely rather than shifting elsewhere in the state.
· Taylor County and the Abilene area recently halted new data center development over water and electricity concerns; similar discussions are underway in other fast-growing Texas communities.
· These decisions ignore the counterfactual: forgone payroll, forgone school and county tax collections, and forgone multiplier effects on local contractors, housing, and retail.
· Texas has spent years building a reputation for abundant land, competitive energy costs, and a relatively light regulatory touch. Repeated local rejections signal that the welcome mat can be pulled without warning.
· Companies evaluating multi-billion-dollar sites notice. They have options in other states and other countries.
Saying no carries a price. Saying no in a political panic - as @GregAbbott_TX did during his failed re-election campaign - comes with major unintended consequences. Now, @GinaHinojosaTX will have the chance to extend the moratorium Abbott intended to be temporary. Investors will respond by moving on to friendlier states.
Some investors have already made that move.
My new piece at @Forbes details the story of #BaRupOn LLC, which recently moved a $3 billion data center project planned for the Permian Basin to Wyoming, where data centers are still welcome.
Link is in the next post.
Texas is about to get a real-world lesson in the economic cost of saying “no” to data centers. Local officials - and the state's lame duck governor - are blocking or delaying projects over water, power, land use, e real, and most imagined. The intentions may be understandable, but the consequences are measurable in dollars and lost jobs.
Key points:
· Data centers deliver construction jobs, permanent high-wage technical and operations roles, and large property and sales tax bases.
· They drive private investment in grid upgrades, water systems, and broadband that benefits entire communities.
· When a county or city - or a governor - issues a moratorium or kills a project, those benefits often leave Texas entirely rather than shifting elsewhere in the state.
· Taylor County and the Abilene area recently halted new data center development over water and electricity concerns; similar discussions are underway in other fast-growing Texas communities.
· These decisions ignore the counterfactual: forgone payroll, forgone school and county tax collections, and forgone multiplier effects on local contractors, housing, and retail.
· Texas has spent years building a reputation for abundant land, competitive energy costs, and a relatively light regulatory touch. Repeated local rejections signal that the welcome mat can be pulled without warning.
· Companies evaluating multi-billion-dollar sites notice. They have options in other states and other countries.
Saying no carries a price. Saying no in a political panic - as @GregAbbott_TX did during his failed re-election campaign - comes with major unintended consequences. Now, @GinaHinojosaTX will have the chance to extend the moratorium Abbott intended to be temporary. Investors will respond by moving on to friendlier states.
Some investors have already made that move.
My new piece at @Forbes details the story of #BaRupOn LLC, which recently moved a $3 billion data center project planned for the Permian Basin to Wyoming, where data centers are still welcome.
Link is in the next post.
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Two notable pre-election findings on voter sentiment toward data centers:
1) They are far more supportive of development with guardrails than they are of outright bans.
2) A large share of voters are not firmly set in their opinions of data centers.
1) They are far more supportive of development with guardrails than they are of outright bans.
2) A large share of voters are not firmly set in their opinions of data centers.
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Voters want jobs and economic growth. But they also want lower energy bills and long-term community partners.
Data centers can deliver on both, and in many cases have. But not always.
It's now all about how "responsible data center development" gets defined.
Data centers can deliver on both, and in many cases have. But not always.
It's now all about how "responsible data center development" gets defined.
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In several races, the candidate calling for a data center ban won. But in others, the candidate calling for a ban lost.
In most of the high profile statewide races, both candidates took a similar position: regulate, don’t ban.
In most of the high profile statewide races, both candidates took a similar position: regulate, don’t ban.
Anti-data center candidates claim victory across the US in 2026 Midterm Elections dlvr.it/TWBNGL
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All of this underscores two things:
1) Data centers were not a driving factor for this election.
2) Candidates who want to embrace new jobs and economic opportunity from data centers can (and did) win by supporting guardrails.
1) Data centers were not a driving factor for this election.
2) Candidates who want to embrace new jobs and economic opportunity from data centers can (and did) win by supporting guardrails.
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Those claiming data centers don't create jobs aren't arguing with "Big Tech."
They're arguing with the workers lining up to fill those jobs.
They're arguing with the workers lining up to fill those jobs.
Data centers can do more than power the digital world. Built right, they strengthen New York communities. Local investment. Energy upgrades. Greater grid resilience.
New York’s UA pipefitters, plumbers, welders and HVAC techs are ready to build them. Learn more on our website!
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Steve Everley retweeted
Not true! Rhodium *did* model LNG exports.
FYI @rhodium_group limited their #BAAJA analysis to transmission and gas-pipeline permitting.
They did not model exports or the bill’s permitting certainty provisions, which irrevocably lock in more fossil fuels.
This is like analyzing a diet by modeling only its protein.
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Steve Everley retweeted
🚨Help is on the way for American drivers.
@ValeroEnergy is buying the shuttered @LyondellBasell Houston refinery on the Houston Ship Channel for $320.5 million and plans to restart roughly 165,000 barrels per day of light sweet crude processing by the end of 2027.
This pacity back online after years of U.S. plant closures that tightened domestic fuel supply.
Key points:
•Capacity return: Restarts 165,000 b/d of light sweet crude processing by year-end 2027, with potential later investment in heavier/sour crude processing.
•Strategic location: ~700-acre site sits directly next to Valero’s existing Houston refinery, including storage, marine docks, rail, and logistics assets for better integration across its Gulf Coast system.
•Supply support: Adds gasoline, diesel, and other fuels produced in the U.S., reducing reliance on imports when global markets tighten due to conflicts and disruptions.
•Economic upside: Supports skilled jobs and industrial activity along the Ship Channel; Valero takes on operations plus environmental and employee obligations.
•Context: The plant (one of Houston’s oldest) closed in early 2025 as LyondellBasell exited refining. This deal recovers a meaningful share of recently lost U.S. capacity at a fraction of the cost of building new.
More domestic refining capacity means more fuel made closer to home. While the restart timeline runs to late 2027 and won’t instantly slash pump prices, it strengthens U.S. fuel supply resilience.
In a world of geopolitical shocks and shrinking refining capacity, American drivers benefit from companies investing to process more barrels here. This is a concrete step in the right direction.
[Link to story in next post.]
@ValeroEnergy is buying the shuttered @LyondellBasell Houston refinery on the Houston Ship Channel for $320.5 million and plans to restart roughly 165,000 barrels per day of light sweet crude processing by the end of 2027.
This pacity back online after years of U.S. plant closures that tightened domestic fuel supply.
Key points:
•Capacity return: Restarts 165,000 b/d of light sweet crude processing by year-end 2027, with potential later investment in heavier/sour crude processing.
•Strategic location: ~700-acre site sits directly next to Valero’s existing Houston refinery, including storage, marine docks, rail, and logistics assets for better integration across its Gulf Coast system.
•Supply support: Adds gasoline, diesel, and other fuels produced in the U.S., reducing reliance on imports when global markets tighten due to conflicts and disruptions.
•Economic upside: Supports skilled jobs and industrial activity along the Ship Channel; Valero takes on operations plus environmental and employee obligations.
•Context: The plant (one of Houston’s oldest) closed in early 2025 as LyondellBasell exited refining. This deal recovers a meaningful share of recently lost U.S. capacity at a fraction of the cost of building new.
More domestic refining capacity means more fuel made closer to home. While the restart timeline runs to late 2027 and won’t instantly slash pump prices, it strengthens U.S. fuel supply resilience.
In a world of geopolitical shocks and shrinking refining capacity, American drivers benefit from companies investing to process more barrels here. This is a concrete step in the right direction.
[Link to story in next post.]
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The irony is that the “15 years of climate progress” were driven by natural gas — and Sierra Club tried to stop it every step of the way.
Sierra Club's new analysis shows that data centers are largely powered by toxic, deadly methane gas. If left unchecked, we could lose 15 years of climate progress.
We are demanding data centers prioritize our climate, our planet, and our futures, NOW!
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
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Steve Everley retweeted
It shouldn't take longer to permit a project than to build it. @RodneyDavis breaks down why Congress must act on permitting reform and why now's the moment for Congress to pass the Bipartisan America Affordability & Jobs Act of 2026 this fall.
🎥 Watch below.
🎥 Watch below.
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Claiming data centers only benefit “tech billionaires” is one of the laziest takes out there.
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