Just a few years ago, Texas was eliminated from the short list of potential data center development because of a lack of tax incentives, CBRE VP for the data center solutions group David Liggitt said at the Bisnow Data Center Investment Conference and Expo (DICE) West in Dallas last week. (Some 250 joined us from California to Philadelphia to hear about national data center trends.) But that's all about to change because this year, the Legislature enacted a new law that should attract more development.

451 Research senior analyst Glenn Ford says providers are often specializing in areas like healthcare or financial services. (The Internet is a scary place if you don't have a focus.) They also differentiate themselves technically, operationally, and environmentally. He says data center activity is going strong locally--Digital Realty acquired a six-building campus in Austin; CyrusOne is building its second data center in San Antonio; and Stream is building in San Antonio.

Event sponsor Georgetown's Mark Thomas (left, with PECO's Desiree Miller and Edward Piscopo) tells us the city just north of Austin has a 52-acre site just adjacent to the 380k SF Citigroup Data Center that is turnkey data center space. For the right deal, the occupant could get 100% renewable power at non-renewable power rates.