New Era Energy & Digital Advances Flagship AI Data Center Campus with Completion of Phase One Engineering
New Era Energy & Digital, Inc. (Nasdaq: NUAI) (“New Era” or the “Company”), a developer and operator of next-generation digital infrastructure and integrated power assets, announced a major step forward in its flagship initiative: the Texas Critical Data Centers LLC (“TCDC”) project. This landmark development, located in the energy-rich Permian Basin region of West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, has successfully completed its Phase One engineering milestones, marking the start of a new chapter in the evolution of large-scale AI-ready data centers in the United States.
TCDC is being developed as a 50/50 joint venture between New Era and Sharon AI, Inc., combining the infrastructure expertise of New Era with Sharon AI’s focus on advanced computing applications. Together, the two companies are seeking to build one of the largest, most energy-resilient, and AI-optimized data center campuses in North America.
Completion of Phase One Engineering
The conclusion of Phase One represents months of technical, environmental, and regulatory preparation. Key elements of this stage included:
- Environmental studies: Completed and successfully passed review, ensuring compliance with federal and state standards. This outcome affirms that the site is suitable for long-term development without significant ecological barriers.
- Feasibility assessments: Technical and operational evaluations confirming the site’s ability to support large-scale AI data center infrastructure.
- Load studies: Analysis of energy requirements validated the project’s constructability and confirmed its path to secure substantial power resources. These results will serve as the foundation for a large load interconnection application to the regional grid operator.
Collectively, these achievements demonstrate not only the project’s technical feasibility but also its potential to provide reliable, large-scale power delivery beginning as early as 2027.
A Vision for Gigawatt-Scale Capacity
The TCDC campus is being designed with an ambitious long-term vision: to scale up to 1 gigawatt (GW) of power capacity. For context, this is enough electricity to power hundreds of thousands of homes, but in this case, the energy will fuel AI-optimized digital infrastructure. Once fully built, the facility is expected to stand among the premier AI data center complexes in the United States, rivaling other large-scale technology hubs.
This vision is underpinned by New Era’s unique approach of integrating behind-the-meter power islands, which ensure reliability and compliance with Texas Senate Bill 6 (SB6). SB6 was passed to enhance the resilience of the Texas power grid, particularly for large energy users like data centers. By proactively incorporating on-site energy solutions, TCDC is positioning itself as a compliant, forward-looking development that avoids overburdening the grid while ensuring uptime for tenants.
Moving Into Phase Two
With Phase One behind them, New Era is now transitioning into Phase Two engineering. This stage will involve:
- Detailed site planning for data center infrastructure.
- Integration of additional power and connectivity resources.
- Continued collaboration with engineering firms, regulators, and local stakeholders to align the project with both technical and community expectations.
The company emphasized that development remains firmly on schedule, reflecting both strong execution discipline and ongoing support from partners and regulators.
Meeting Surging AI Demand
The rationale for TCDC is rooted in the rapid global growth of AI infrastructure. Demand for high-performance computing and GPU clusters is expected to accelerate exponentially over the next decade, driven by generative AI, advanced simulations, and data-intensive applications across industries.
By designing a campus that integrates powered land, powered shells, and secure energy supply, New Era’s vertically integrated model seeks to offer a unique competitive advantage. This structure reduces tenant costs and shortens deployment timelines compared to traditional models, where data centers often rely on third-party energy providers and fragmented development strategies.
Strategic Advantages of the Permian Basin Location
The decision to anchor the project in the Permian Basin provides a number of advantages. Known primarily as one of the world’s most prolific oil and gas production regions, the Basin also offers:
- Abundant energy resources: Ensuring long-term security of supply for high-density data centers.
- Direct fiber connectivity: Linking the region to major network backbones and enabling low-latency digital operations.
- Scalability: With 438 acres already secured, the site offers significant room for expansion to meet future demand.
These attributes, combined with New Era’s integrated power solutions, position TCDC as a unique asset in the competitive landscape of U.S. data center development.
Leadership Perspective
E. Will Gray II, Chief Executive Officer of New Era Energy & Digital, highlighted the importance of this milestone. He stated:
“We are de-risking one of the most ambitious AI data center site developments in the United States. Completion of Phase One engineering validates both the strength of our project and the discipline of our development approach. With major feasibility milestones and load studies cleared, we are accelerating toward Phase Two engineering and bringing our vision of energy-resilient, AI-native infrastructure one step closer to reality.”
Gray’s comments reflect the company’s confidence in its ability to deliver not only cutting-edge infrastructure but also to provide assurance to future tenants and investors that the project is grounded in careful planning and validated technical work.
