Overview
- Ontario on Thursday released a data‑centre playbook that would force new projects to pay a higher, dedicated electricity rate, cover grid upgrades, favor closed‑loop cooling to cut water use, and rule out cash incentives.
- Municipal action is spreading in Ontario with Oakville approving a one‑year moratorium to study local impacts and Mississauga considering a similar pause while some councils have declined bans.
- Texas has ordered audits of data‑centre interconnections and effectively paused new grid hookups as state officials demand developers pay for upgrades or build behind‑the‑meter power.
- Developers are responding by proposing on‑site generation and filing lawsuits against local bans, a shift that could increase fossil fuel generation at facilities and raise emissions in some places.
- Public opposition is broad and bipartisan, with recent polls showing large majorities against local data centres, a dynamic that has already delayed roughly $130 billion of projects and that raises clear electoral risk going into the 2026 midterms.