Lee County, in Lee County, Texas, adopted a data-center zoning exclusion on January 1, 2026. Its status in this snapshot is in force.
The record reads: "In Lee County, 'Move the Gas Plant' grassroots group pushing back against a 1,200 MW gas plant by Sandow Lakes Energy that would serve nearby data centers and Bitcoin mining. TCEQ denied their hearing request in approximately 45 seconds… (datacentertracker.org)."
Details
| Action | Class | Status | Date | MW threshold | Scope | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoning exclusion | restriction | in force | January 1, 2026 | county-wide | datacentertracker.org |
Jurisdiction type: municipality. County: Lee County. Dataset: datacentertracker. Snapshot August 15, 2026; documented actions, not a census.
Texas context
Texas has 17 documented local actions across 17 jurisdictions in this snapshot. At the state level, the state has a ratepayer-protection law (enacted, June 20, 2025) and El Paso Electric territory has a large-load tariff (enacted, July 31, 2025).
A town that says no to a data center gives up local tax revenue, not jobs: one large campus pays $2M to $90M a year depending on the tax regime, against roughly 50 permanent jobs. The parent piece prices it and lists the conditions that beat a ban.