What information is accessible about a data center project can differ from place to place and depend on whether a project seeks out tax breaks, whether it needs local rezoning or special permits, and how it will get its power and water.
Emily Foxhall
Emily Foxhall is The Texas Tribune's climate reporter. She joined the Tribune as an energy reporter in December 2022, focused on the state’s transition to green energy and the reliability of the power grid. She completed a year-long Knight Science Journalism Fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in May 2025. Emily is based in Houston, where she grew up. After a stint as a Tribune student intern in 2012, she began her career at the Los Angeles Times and its community papers. She later worked at the Houston Chronicle where her environmental reporting uncovered the effects of climate change and pollution on the region. She won several Texas Managing Editors awards and was part of the 2017 team that was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news coverage of Hurricane Harvey. Emily graduated from Yale University in 2013, where she studied English and was a Yale Journalism Scholar.
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Data Centers in Texas
While data centers boom in Texas, their plans stay shrouded in secrecy
Data center developers can use nondisclosure agreements and shell companies to shield the details of their deals from the public. Even state officials also say they need more transparency from the industry.
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Hill Country floods
They’ve been hit by two major floods in two years. But Kerr County residents are staying.
Some say selling their property makes no financial sense even if they wanted to leave.
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Hill Country floods
“Where are all the volunteers?” Kerr County faces worse flood damage with fewer resources
The Federal Emergency Management Agency hasn’t started helping local governments or individuals, while philanthropic response lags compared to last year’s flood.
Posted in
Environment
As flooded Texas towns recover, downstream river levels haven’t yet peaked
While Gov. Greg Abbott declared “the worst of the rain is behind us,” he cautioned that rivers in the hardest-hit counties still pose a danger.
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Environment
Key differences spared Texas lives in second straight July flood
Emergency responders say better tools and preparation also played life-saving roles after intense storms dropped heavy amounts of rain.
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Hill Country floods
A year after deadly floods, Texas lawmakers haven’t addressed training for emergency coordinators
Texas’ emergency management chief has repeatedly recommended that lawmakers require minimum training but a bill proposed after the disaster failed.
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Hill Country floods
One year after the July 4 flood, Kerr County shows signs of trauma and healing
Crider’s dance hall is back. Homes are rebuilt. Kids swim in the river. But there’s also deep grief after the river killed 119 people and traumatized more.
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Data Centers in Texas
An unprecedented data center boom means new challenges for Texas. Find out what’s planned near you.
A Texas Tribune analysis identified at least 248 planned data center projects. Opponents fear the projects will spike Texans’ electric bills and make the grid less reliable. But industry representatives say they promise huge economic gains.
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Investigations
Texas lawmakers repeatedly failed to pass flood protections. Some could have saved lives.
Dozens of bills were rejected over nearly 60 years, ProPublica and The Texas Tribune found. Some measures would have prohibited youth camps and new construction in high-risk flood areas.
