OPINION: What data center developers can learn from the shale boom

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Rural development that scars the land, trucks that snarl traffic and tear up the roads, security lights that brighten our dark skies, noisy operations that disturb bucolic silence, man camps with their attendant challenges, and competition for water that makes drought-weary Texans nervous — all balanced against promises of untold riches, tax revenues for local governments, and job creation.

In some ways, Texas’ data center boom feels like a bad replay of the shale-oil boom that began here in the Permian Basin. And developers rushing to meet AI companies’ needs have much to learn from the hydraulic fracturing craze.

The shale revolution transformed U.S. energy production and flipped energy geopolitics on its head, turning the United States from a net energy importer to a net exporter and helping reverse coal-driven growth in carbon emissions. But it also generated significant community tensions. Shale producers thought they would be hailed as heroes liberating us from the yoke of Middle Eastern oil, but in many regions, they were greeted as the latest interlopers to ruin rural life.

Many companies and industry groups learned — sometimes the hard way — that community engagement and transparency are essential to maintaining public trust. The AI industry, which also believes it’s bringing a world-changing innovation, is likely to face similar dynamics. Communities are already bristling at the prospect of a new data center coming to town.

Luckily, the AI industry has an opportunity to incorporate the shale boom’s lessons early. Like the frackers before them, the data-center developers can save themselves time and trouble by taking local concerns seriously.

After fighting pushback, the energy industry eventually developed systematic approaches for dealing with the locals. For example, the American Petroleum Institute, the industry’s main national trade organization, created community engagement guidance. And the National Petroleum Council, a federally chartered, privately funded advisory committee, started to emphasize societal considerations in the studies it shared with the Secretary of Energy.

In the early shale years, companies often showed up in communities after a project’s key decisions were already made — holding public meetings, but doing little to revise in response to public concerns. Instead, the trade groups’ guidance emphasized early, continuous engagement: Meet with local communities before siting decisions are finalized. Be transparent about impacts like truck traffic, noise, and water use. And make tangible commitments — from road maintenance to workforce training — that reflect what communities actually need.

These efforts reflect a broader recognition that large infrastructure systems succeed when they align with the interests of the regions where they operate — and they fail when they don’t.

The shale boom revealed something else: Large infrastructure systems depend on public trust. Companies that engaged local communities early, explained their operations clearly, and shared economic benefits often found development moved forward more smoothly. Where those relationships broke down, the projects faced delays, opposition and reputational damage. Community engagement was not simply a public relations exercise — it was a core part of making the large infrastructure systems operate successfully.

Rather than waiting for conflicts to emerge, technology companies and data center developers have an opportunity to incorporate community engagement and regional development considerations early. The Ratepayer Protection Pledge issued by AI companies with President Trump earlier this month is a good start. It pressures major technology companies to prioritize local job creation and to pay for the high energy demands of AI data centers so that those costs will not be passed on to households through higher utility bills.

But a one-size-fits-all promise made in front of the cameras in Washington, D.C., needs to translate to on-the-ground action that fits local needs.

Like every major infrastructure system before it, AI will ultimately be shaped not only by technology, engineers and software developers, but by the regions and communities that host its physical footprint. This will all go better if we collaborate for rapid buildout of the AI infrastructure our nation needs — and industry demands — in a way that leads to widespread benefits and minimized downsides. This will be hard, but the shale boom teaches us how — and why — to do it.
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Marilu Hastings is executive vice president of the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation — a Texas-based grantmaking organization focused on advanced energy, land, water, and sustainability issues — and director of its Mitchell Innovation Lab. CGMF carries forward the legacy of George P. Mitchell, widely credited as the father of the U.S. shale revolution.

Michael E. Webber is the Sid Richardson chair in public affairs, Cockrell Family chair #16 in engineering, and engineering academic director of the Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison Energy Center at the University of Texas at Austin.

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Editor's Note: This opinion originally appeared in the Houston Chronicle on March 26, 2026. Click here to read.

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