Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told Fox News Digital he backs President Donald Trump's AI infrastructure plan. (Getty)
"We need to take a close look at those two industries," Patrick posted on X in June 2024 while expressing concerns that data centers and crypto mining expansion add more to the grid than they pay off in jobs.
"They produce very few jobs compared to the incredible demands they place on our grid. Crypto mining may actually make more money selling electricity back to the grid than from their crypto mining operations... Texans will ultimately pay the price. I’m more interested in building the grid to service customers in their homes, apartments, and normal businesses and keeping costs as low as possible for them instead of for very niche industries that have massive power demands and produce few jobs."
EXPERTS SAY FIRST WEEK OF 'TRUMP EFFECT' IS DERAILING GLOBAL CLIMATE MOVEMENT'S 'HOUSE OF CARDS'
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump wave as they board Air Force One, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, for a trip to North Carolina and California. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
"The data center industry appreciates President Trump highlighting the essential role of the data center industry in advancing America’s national security and global economic competitiveness. We also appreciate his commitment to promoting the rapid development of additional data center and energy capacity to support the nation’s leadership in AI," Diorio continued. "Texas is uniquely poised to benefit from this. With continued support for data centers, Texas can continue to drive innovation and investment while promoting American economic leadership and national security today and into the future."
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Last week, Trump announced Stargate, a joint venture of OpenAI, SoftBank and Oracle that will invest up to $500 billion in AI-related infrastructure.
Texas will serve as ground zero, with 10 data centers by the venture already under construction in the state, 10 more on the way and the first project based in Abilene, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison said. Each building will occupy half a million square feet.
Patrick said in a statement last week to The Texas Tribune that he believes Texas should be the "world leader in AI, data center and crypto. The key is to ensure they have the power they need without a major impact to our electrical grid. The industries understand that and they are working on solutions."
Texas’ main grid operator predicts power demand will nearly double by 2030, in part due to more requests to plug into the grid from large users like data centers, crypto mining facilities, hydrogen production plants, and oil and gas companies.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to AndrewMark.Miller@Fox.com.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/top-texas-gop-official-rallies-around-trumps-ai-crypto-plans-amid-states-crucial-investments