Big Watt Digital, an integrated power and digital infrastructure company, together with its co-development partner PowerHouse Data Centers, a real estate and digital infrastructure developer and a division of American Real Estate Partners (AREP), has announced that it has secured approval of its development agreement for the Taylor Technology Campus project just outside the city of Taylor, Texas.
The project, a joint venture between Big Watt Digital and PowerHouse Data Centers according to a press release, will be set on a 664-acre site in Taylor, Texas. The campus will have the potential to support up to one gigawatt of hyperscale data center capacity.
“The introduction of the Taylor site demonstrates Big Watt and PowerHouse’s immediate progress along with what the company was built to do: bring power and digital infrastructure together from the outset to deliver speed, scale and certainty for the AI economy,” said Alex Hern, Big Watt Digital Co-founder and Co-Chief Executive Officer.
The development agreement that has been approved provides for project-specific standards governing water use, stormwater management, site design, landscaping, setbacks, as well as lighting and noise. The plan also includes developer-funded improvements to the City of Taylor’s reclaimed-water infrastructure among other enhanced standards in several areas.
On power, the Taylor Technology Campus plans to utilize dedicated, behind-the-meter power generation, leaning on natural gas resources capable of supporting large-scale operations. Power availability at the campus is targeted for the first half of 2028, aligning power delivery with data center deployment schedules.
“By pairing digital infrastructure with dedicated, behind-the-meter power, we are designing for and addressing one of the biggest constraints facing data center development today — access to reliable power — without relying solely on incremental grid capacity,” added Hern.
“Austin is one of the most dynamic technology markets in the country, and the Taylor Technology Campus project gives us a strategically positioned platform to support the next generation of AI and hyperscale computing while delivering meaningful economic benefits to Taylor and the broader region,” said Keith Meyer, Big Watt Digital President.
According to Meyer, the project will bring private investment, employment opportunities, and economic activity to the local community. On that, the co-developers state that the campus is being planned with consideration for the surrounding community and local resources.
Power availability is a massive constraint in Texas. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is tracking 438,000 MW of large load requests, nearly 89 percent of which are for data centers. As w.media reported in September, ERCOT granted base load approval to several data center developers including IREN, Hut 8, CleanSpark, and Galaxy Digital as part of its Batch Zero process. By opting for a behind-the-meter power generation solution, the Taylor Technology Campus may avoid the long delays associated with grid connection in the Lone Star State.