A year ago, a developer approached the city of San Marcos with a request to build a data center behind her ranch. A recent poll by Gallup News found that seven in 10 Americans oppose local construction of AI data centers. After nearly eight hours of public comment, the council voted to deny the request for rezoning — effectively blocking the data center. Most data centers either use air or water, but Cook said because it’s so hot in Texas, water is the preferred method. Aging infrastructure, supply chain issues and high demand projects — like data centers — are all contributing to increased energy costs.