AI advancing in west Texas: 'World's largest energy-driven Artificial Intelligence complex'

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(The Center Square) – Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology is advancing in the west Texas panhandle in Abilene and Amarillo.

 Oracle and OpenAI’s newly operational flagship site, Stargate I, in Abilene is expected to generate more than five gigawatts of capacity, which will run more than two million chips. 

“This significantly advances our progress toward the commitment we announced at the White House in January to invest $500 billion into 10 gigawatts of AI infrastructure in the U.S. over the next four years. We now expect to exceed our initial commitment thanks to strong momentum with partners including Oracle and SoftBank,” Open AI said.

Its cloud infrastructure is already enabling OpenAI to train models like ChatGPT. One building on the Stargate I site is fully operational; another is nearly complete. 

The site has already created thousands of jobs, Open AI says. More are expected as operations expand, including specialized jobs for electricians, equipment operators, and technicians. Stargate I is projected to contribute more than $1 billion in direct and indirect economic benefit to Abilene over 20 years, it says. 

U.S. Sen.  Ted Cruz, R-Texas, toured Stargate I in Abilene Wednesday, saying, “Texas is leading the way to make sure the United States beats China in the AI race. This is the beginning of a long-term effort to invest in American jobs, supply the additional power needed for AI, and deliver products and services that will benefit all Americans.”

Cruz recently released a policy framework outlining how Congress and the Trump administration can lead in AI, including streamlining federal permitting for AI infrastructure.

OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank also announced this week that they were building five more Stargate sites nationwide, including in Shackleford County, Texas. Others are slated to be built in New Mexico and the Midwest.  

Farther north in Amarillo, Fermi America in partnership with the Texas Tech University System, is developing next-generation electric grids to support AI technology and build “the world's largest energy-driven Artificial Intelligence complex.”

Fermi was cofounded by former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and his son, Griffin Perry, who is co-founder of a private investment firm, Grey Rock Energy Partners. Grey Rock claims it’s developing next-generation electric grids to deliver highly redundant power at gigawatt scale necessary to sustain next-generation AI.

The Amarillo campus is the “first-of-its-kind behind-the-meter HyperGrid™ campus” that will “integrate the largest nuclear power complex in America, the nation's biggest combined-cycle natural gas project, utility grid power, solar power, and battery energy storage to deliver next-generation artificial intelligence,” Fermi says. 

Spanning 5,769 acres, it’s projected to deliver up to 11 gigawatts of power and 18 million square feet of AI capacity, it says. It’s being built in the center of a natural gas powerhouse in Texas at the confluence of several of the largest natural gas pipelines and located on top of one of the largest known natural gas fields. 

The site “offers a prolific, firm, clean-burning and redundant gas supply,” Fermi says. It’s also being built near Pantex, a primary nuclear facility, underscoring “Fermi's strategic position to build clean, safe, new nuclear power for America's next-generation AI,” it says. The HyperGrid “is expected to deliver clean, highly reliable base-load power at unprecedented scale.”

"The Chinese are building 22 nuclear reactors today to power the future of AI," Perry Sr. said. "America has none. We're behind, and it's all hands-on-deck.” Earlier this year, President Donald Trump issued executive orders to expand energy dominance which “demands that American innovators rise to the occasion,” he said. “No one does energy better than Texas, and Fermi America and the Texas Tech University System are answering the call."

On Thursday, Fermi and Texas Tech announced a new partnership with Siemens Energy to fulfil Trump's “promise to restore U.S. energy dominance and to ensure America wins the global race to power the future of artificial intelligence.” 

"Winning the AI arms race doesn't just take software developers. It takes more electricity," Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said. The Fermi campus “proves that we can integrate natural gas, nuclear energy, and artificial intelligence into a single, powerful ecosystem. Modern energy infrastructure isn't a luxury, it's the foundation of global leadership. By advancing President Trump's Energy Dominance Agenda, we're not just fueling America – we're powering the future of intelligence." 

“No one understands the global energy race better than Donald Trump," Perry added. The Trump administration’s departments of Energy, Interior and War “are all working tirelessly to secure America's position in this AI race and to ensure that our private sector, with the strong support of this pro-energy administration, has what we need to lead the way in abundant, reliable, and innovative energy solutions,” he said.

Each of the companies advancing AI technology in Texas are citing Trump executive orders encouraging AI advancement and U.S. energy dominance, claiming they are furthering the president’s objectives.