PowerPlay AI, an energy infrastructure company, through a joint venture (JV) with a Nasdaq-listed neocloud partner, is developing a 400 MW behind-the-meter AI data center project in the greater Abilene area of West Texas, this unincorporated location does not have zoning restrictions which supports project execution.
According to a press release, the project has completed site feasibility work, infrastructure assessments, and land acquisition. The JV is now advancing natural gas service agreements and evaluating independent power producers following a request for proposal process.
Luke Velterop, board member, PowerPlay AI, said, “Demand is accelerating faster than the grid can respond, interconnection queues now stretch into the 2030s, and competition for sites that can deliver scalable power at speed has never been greater. At the same time, federal policy is calling on industry to ‘build, bring or buy’ the energy this demand requires.
He continues, “Against that backdrop, PowerPlay AI is advancing a strategically positioned development where pipelines, policy and people converge to drive rapid execution. Together with our joint venture partner, we’re combining a power-first strategy with world-class AI infrastructure expertise to deliver the next wave of energized AI compute at speed.”
The facility is expected to deliver its initial 400 MW of power capacity in 2028 and the site is located near existing natural gas and fiber infrastructure and is close to several large-scale AI campuses that are operating, under construction, or in development.
Texas alone has 6.5 GW of data center capacity currently under construction, reinforcing projections that the state could surpass Virginia to become the world’s largest data center market by 2030 as reported by JLL.