Galaxy Digital’s latest Texas AI data center project reflects a shift in how utilities and regulators view massive AI loads, as developers are increasingly expected to both fund grid upgrades and prove their demand is real before utilities build around them. The project is Galaxy’s second major Texas AI campus after its 1.6 GW Helios development in Dickens County. Related:Data Centers’ Next Hurdle: Winning Public Trust and Social LicenseThe project also mirrors changes in Texas policy recently reported by Data Center Knowledge. Greg Abbott directed the Public Utility Commission of Texas and ERCOT to develop rules requiring data center developers to pay for required electric infrastructure while strengthening oversight of water use and other impacts. “The emerging model is moving from ‘beneficiary pays’ to ‘beneficiary proves,’” Neil Osnato, founder of Persistence Analytics Group, told Data Center Knowledge.