My family, my friends — everyone I know and love — lives here in the Rio Grande Valley.

This place is home. It’s the heart of who we are.

But right now, the RGV is at a crossroads.

Massive data centers and AI facilities are moving in fast across our region. These facilities don’t just “store data.” They can run 24/7 at enormous scale — which means huge demand for electricity and, in many cases, a lot of water for cooling.

Why this matters right now

National energy experts are warning that data center electricity use is climbing rapidly, and U.S. power demand from data centers could grow significantly in the next few years.

That’s a big deal for the Rio Grande Valley, because we’re already under stress:

We already worry about water
We already worry about infrastructure
We already worry about grid reliability
 

Our resources are not unlimited — and projects like this can push a region past what it can handle. 

The two biggest risks: power + water

1) Power demand that can strain the grid

These facilities can require massive, constant electrical loads. When demand spikes, that increases the risk of brownouts, blackouts, higher costs, and grid emergencies — and Texas has already been taking steps to manage huge “large loads” during emergencies.

2) Water use in a region that doesn’t have water to waste

Depending on how they’re built, large data centers can use significant water for cooling. Federal research has noted that a 100 MW facility can consume water on the scale of thousands of households.

And even when a company claims “we don’t use much water,” there’s still a hidden water footprint tied to the electricity required to power these facilities.

We need to act before it’s too late

Once land is bought, rezoned, and incentives are approved, it becomes extremely hard to stop these projects.

That’s why we must act now — before the RGV is locked into decisions we can’t undo. Our leaders need to understand the full impact before they can say, “We didn’t know.”