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Texas is at the epicenter of a new industrial boom — one not driven by steel mills or oil derricks, but by racks of servers powering artificial intelligence, cloud services, and our increasingly digital economy.
As Claire Hao of the Houston Chronicle recently reported, data center developers now represent the single largest driver of new electricity demand in Texas — making up over 50% of new large-load interconnection requests to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, ERCOT. Cities like Alvarado, Waco, and Hillsboro are seeing data center project proposals with electricity consumption projections far exceeding those cities’ existing loads.
One proposed data center cluster near Cleburne, TX could consume more electricity than the entire city of Austin — outstripping the capacity of Austin Energy’s system. It’s a striking reminder of how quickly demand is growing — and why Texas must plan now to ensure the grid can keep up.
ERCOT’s own April 2025 Long-Term Load Forecast reflects this tidal shift: peak demand could reach 218 GW by 2031 — more than double the all-time record of 85.5 GW set just two years ago. The challenge isn’t just scale. It’s speed. These facilities are coming online in years, not decades.
The question is: can the grid keep up?
Why dispatchable power — not just more renewables — is critical
Renewables are rightly central to Texas’ energy mix — wind and solar now make up over 40% of the state’s generation capacity. They’re clean and play a critical role in diversifying our energy sources, but they aren’t always available when we need them most: during peak demand of hot summer afternoons, early winter mornings, and extended severe weather events.
That’s where dispatchable, flexible generation becomes essential. But Texas hasn’t built enough of it (yet) to keep pace with growing demand and increasing challenges.
And this is why natural gas microgrids — like those developed and operated by Enchanted Rock — have a pivotal role to play in this next chapter of grid evolution.
A proven technology, built for speed and resilience
Unlike centralized peaker plants or massive transmission infrastructure, natural gas microgrids can be rapidly deployed, often within 12-18 months, and sited directly at large load centers such as data centers, manufacturing campuses, or critical infrastructure. They provide resilient, local backup and grid-dispatchable capacity — effectively acting as a shock absorber for the grid.
These microgrids aren’t theoretical. We’ve deployed hundreds of megawatts of capacity across Texas and beyond. Our systems performed during Winter Storm Uri in 2021, when millions lost power amid rolling blackouts. And again during Hurricane Beryl in 2024, when some of Houston was left without power for more than 2 weeks in the summer heat. During large severe weather events and everyday storms and other power outages, our customers — from grocery store to hospitals and critical infrastructure like water treatment plants — maintain operations and serve their communities.
Better than diesel. Faster than the grid.
Compared to traditional diesel backup, Enchanted Rock’s systems run on abundant Texas natural gas, with ultra-low emissions (enabled by rich-burn engine technology with three-way catalysts) and reduced noise pollution. These systems can deliver megawatts of firm capacity not just as backup, but as active grid resources — supporting frequency regulation, capacity reserves, and local reliability.
They also reduce dependence on diesel generators during emergencies — a growing concern as air quality regulations tighten, particularly in dense urban areas. Natural gas microgrids avoid the refueling challenges that come with diesel, which can be delayed or disrupted when roads are impassable or supply chains break down — especially when diesel itself is in short supply
Scalable power solutions for Texas’ data-centric future
Data center growth is not slowing down. AI workloads and edge computing will continue to drive new electricity demand, with much of it sited in areas not traditionally served by large-scale infrastructure. Texas has the advantage of natural gas supply, permitting speed, and entrepreneurial drive — but needs tools to meet this demand with precision and reliability.
Grid-dispatchable natural gas microgrids are one of the most powerful tools Texas can deploy right now. These onsite generation resources offer large loads like data centers and manufacturers:
This is not an either-or debate. Renewables and natural gas microgrids together can build a grid that is cleaner, more resilient, and ready for the data-driven future.
Texas is already leading the way in powering the future. Let’s keep that momentum going.
This article was originally published on LinkedIn.
