Governor Greg Abbott announced on August 17, 2026, that three major data center companies, New Era Energy & Digital, Switch, and Hanwha, have committed to comply with the standards and guidelines he established earlier this summer to govern data center development across Texas.

The announcements, made in mid-August 2026, mark the latest wave of industry alignment with a regulatory framework Abbott said is designed to protect the electric grid, conserve water, preserve residential quality of life, and ensure that large-scale digital infrastructure does not shift costs onto Texas families and small businesses.

Abbott's Framework and Its Enforcement Teeth

Earlier in the summer of 2026, Abbott directed the Public Utilities Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to implement a set of binding requirements for data center development across the state.

Under those directives, data centers must pay for their own electric infrastructure rather than pass costs to ratepayers, reuse their own water, demonstrate measures to reduce electricity costs for Texans, and avoid disrupting residential neighborhoods.

Before any project can move forward, the PUCT and ERCOT are required to receive and audit detailed disclosures from each data center company.

Those disclosures must cover all taxpayer-funded incentives, grants, and abatements tied to the project; projected electricity demand along with plans for on-site generation or other measures to reduce reliance on the ERCOT grid; water sources and projected water use, reuse procedures, and water-efficient cooling technologies; and plans to mitigate community impacts such as noise, light, traffic, and emergency response coordination.

Full transparency regarding project ownership and controlling interests is also required. Any company that fails to comply with ERCOT's audit process faces denial of approval. Abbott's office noted that since the directives were issued, one data center that could not comply chose to end operations before construction even began.

"The PUCT and ERCOT cannot make decisions to guarantee grid stability and reliability based on substantially incomplete information," Abbott said.

"I established clear guardrails to ensure data centers protect our electric grid, conserve our water, respect our neighborhoods, and pay their own way."

New Era Energy & Digital's Permian Basin Project

New Era Energy & Digital, a Nasdaq-listed developer of digital infrastructure and integrated power assets trading under the ticker NUAI, announced its support for the governor's framework on August 11, 2026.

The company, headquartered in Midland, Texas, is developing its flagship project, Texas Critical Data Centers, on a 492-acre site in the Permian Basin.

The project is anticipated to scale to 1.4 gigawatts of capacity over time.

Chief Executive Officer Charlie Nelson said the company welcomes higher standards for the industry. "Texans must come first," Nelson said.

"For us, responsible development means paying our own way, protecting the grid and local water resources, and delivering lasting benefits for our neighbors."

New Era said its power strategy for the Texas Critical Data Centers project is built around dedicated behind-the-meter generation designed to reduce dependence on constrained public-grid capacity.

On water, the company said its data center design prioritizes closed-loop liquid cooling and the use of reclaimed water, and that it is evaluating multiple independent water and wastewater solutions.

The company also said it intends to create jobs and contribute to the local tax base, and has committed to ongoing support for library programs in Odessa and after-school childcare programs for working families in the area.

Hanwha Brings a Decade of Texas Energy Experience

Hanwha Data Centers, the large-load infrastructure business of Hanwha Energy USA, issued its own statement of support on August 17, 2026.

The company said it welcomes the PUCT and ERCOT audit process and described Abbott's directives as consistent with its existing approach to large-load development.

Hanwha Energy USA said it has spent the past decade building an energy presence in Texas, developing and advancing more than a dozen complex energy projects totaling approximately 2.8 gigawatts of capacity.

The company operates the 324-megawatt Ector County Generation facility, which it said contributes to ERCOT grid stability. Hanwha also participates in Texas competitive energy markets through its retail brands, Chariot Energy and Pumpjack Power.

The company said its approach to data center development in Texas rests on four principles: transparency and accountability through cooperation with PUCT, ERCOT, and other state officials; responsible power development, including the buildout of new dispatchable generation alongside data center growth; responsible water use, including minimizing water consumption and ensuring projects bear their associated water costs; and strong community partnerships addressing traffic, sound, and emergency response while supporting local employment.

Hanwha said its capabilities support a phased approach to power delivery that includes bridge power for near-term needs, scalable permanent generation and energy storage, and interconnection infrastructure.

The company said it also plans to incorporate load-management measures designed to support ERCOT reliability as projects grow.

Switch Points to Its Existing Design Philosophy

Switch, which describes itself as a provider of exascale data center infrastructure, expressed its alignment with Abbott's standards in a post published on X on August 13, 2026.

The company said Abbott's focus on grid reliability, ratepayer protection, transparency, and responsible resource stewardship reflects principles that have guided its longstanding Responsible by Design approach.

Switch did not publish a separate press release with additional operational details, but its public statement indicated the company views the governor's standards as consistent with its existing framework for data center development.

A Shifting Industry Landscape in Texas

The collective announcements from New Era, Switch, and Hanwha follow what Abbott's office characterized as a universal implementation of his guidelines by data centers operating across Texas. The governor's office said that, in addition to those announcing compliance, at least one data center ended its project without beginning construction after determining it could not meet the standards.

Abbott framed the framework as a protection for ordinary Texans rather than an obstacle to the industry. "They must not pass costs on to Texas families or interfere with their quality of life," he said, summarizing the core expectation his administration has set for any company seeking to participate in Texas's rapidly expanding data center market.