New Era Energy & Digital Advances to Phase Two Engineering for Texas Critical Data Center, Expands Land and Provides Financial Update
New Era Energy & Digital, Inc. (Nasdaq: NUAI) (“New Era” or the “Company”), a developer and operator of advanced digital infrastructure and integrated power assets, announced that its joint venture, Texas Critical Data Centers LLC (“TCDC”), has officially begun Phase Two engineering for its flagship data center and power development project located in West Texas. Alongside this operational milestone, the Company also filed a Form 8-K with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on October 3, 2025, providing investors with an updated overview of its financial status and ongoing corporate progress.
Advancing into Phase Two Engineering
The initiation of Phase Two marks an important step forward for New Era Energy & Digital’s vision to develop a next-generation AI-ready data center ecosystem powered by efficient and sustainable energy solutions. This announcement follows the successful completion of Phase One engineering, which focused on conceptual designs, feasibility studies, and preliminary site assessments for the West Texas project.
The TCDC initiative is being jointly developed by New Era Energy & Digital and Sharon AI Inc., a strategic partnership designed to merge expertise in renewable power generation, digital infrastructure, and artificial intelligence applications. With the completion of Phase One, the project has now entered a more detailed technical phase that encompasses comprehensive site planning, land clearing, and infrastructure integration across the campus footprint.
According to company officials, TCDC is currently soliciting bids for site clearing and grading, with initial physical work anticipated to begin within the next 60 days. This phase also involves refining the campus layout to accommodate multiple power islands, optimized cooling systems, and high-density computing modules suited for AI and GPU workloads—a sector seeing exponential global growth.
Permitting and Environmental Progress
One of the critical aspects of Phase Two involves securing the necessary air quality and environmental permits required for large-scale data center operations. TCDC has reported substantial progress in this area, aided by its favorable geographic location. The project site sits within an air-quality attainment zone, meaning that the area already meets federal air quality standards—an important advantage over regions facing regulatory or environmental constraints.
TCDC is currently pursuing a minor source air permit, which authorizes up to 250 tons of emissions per year and typically receives approval within 90 days. This streamlined process contrasts sharply with major source permits, which can require 18 months or longer under existing environmental standards.
By leveraging minor source permitting and developing modular power units (“power islands”), TCDC gains the flexibility to scale capacity incrementally without triggering lengthy regulatory reviews. This modular development strategy not only reduces project risk but also ensures that power and data capacity can be rapidly deployed in response to evolving customer demand.
According to New Era, this permitting strategy represents a key competitive advantage, setting TCDC apart from traditional data center developers constrained by extended environmental review cycles. It also aligns with the company’s commitment to integrating cleaner and more efficient power solutions into the data center’s operational framework.
Land Expansion Strengthens Long-Term Growth
As part of its broader growth plan, TCDC has confirmed its intention to finalize the acquisition of an additional 203 acres adjacent to its current property within the next 60–90 days. Once completed, this expansion will increase the total campus footprint to approximately 438 contiguous acres.
The enlarged site provides ample room for multi-phase construction, including dedicated power generation zones, cooling facilities, and high-performance data modules. This additional land also enhances the project’s ability to scale in tandem with the accelerating demand for AI-driven and high-performance computing (HPC) applications.
With the land expansion secured, TCDC’s West Texas campus is now being designed for a total potential capacity exceeding 1 gigawatt (GW). This scale positions the development among the largest integrated data center and energy projects in the region, reinforcing its strategic importance in the broader U.S. AI and digital infrastructure landscape.
Strategic Timeline and Future Milestones
TCDC’s immediate focus remains on enhancing power availability and securing the required interconnection approvals for grid and behind-the-meter operations. Near-term milestones include the expansion of behind-the-meter power capacity, submission of a large-load interconnection application, and finalization of key vendor partnerships for construction and electrical systems.
Looking ahead to 2026, the project’s primary objectives include:
- Initiating construction of the behind-the-meter power facilities.
- Breaking ground on the initial data center buildings.
- Establishing energy management systems to optimize load balancing and efficiency.
By 2027, New Era and TCDC expect to begin a significant capacity expansion phase, scaling up data center operations to meet surging market demand for AI computing, machine learning, and cloud infrastructure. The phased rollout approach allows the partnership to align capital deployment with customer contracts, improving both flexibility and return on investment.
