Texas Governor Greg Abbott has highlighted the state’s growing role in attracting major data center and artificial intelligence investments. Speaking at a Texas Economic Development investor summit, Abbott emphasized the importance of diversifying the state’s economy with nontraditional industries.
Abbott referenced recent moves by Oracle, OpenAI, and SoftBank to invest $400 billion over three years in AI data centers nationwide as part of a joint venture called “Project Stargate.” The first campus under this initiative opened in Abilene earlier this year.
He suggested that additional AI-related investments are forthcoming in Texas and could surpass the scale of Project Stargate. Five more Stargate data centers are planned, including locations in Shackleford County and Milam County within Texas, as well as Lordstown, Ohio; Doña Ana County, New Mexico; and another site in the Midwest.
Once completed, these facilities are expected to reach seven gigawatts of capacity for AI data processing and create 25,000 onsite jobs along with thousands of ancillary positions across the country. The Abilene facility alone is projected to consume six gigawatts—almost twice the daily electricity usage of the Texas Rio Grande Valley.
Texas has become a hub for data centers due to its available land and infrastructure. According to CBRE, Dallas-Fort Worth holds about one-tenth of the U.S. data center market—the largest share outside Northern Virginia. However, concerns remain about whether power capacity can keep up with demand. Abbott stated that Texas produces more electricity than any other state, generating 12 percent of national output.
Curt Holcomb, managing director for data center solutions at JLL, said that over one gigawatt of new data center capacity is currently under construction in Dallas-Fort Worth. He also noted that an additional four gigawatts are being planned.
The rapid expansion raises questions about how increased demand for water and electricity will be met. The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects a 7 percent increase in electricity demand from computing this year and a 15 percent rise by 2026.
Some developers aim to address these challenges directly. Fermi Inc., co-founded by former Governor Rick Perry, is promoting “Project Matador”—a proposed 5,000-acre advanced energy campus on land owned by Texas Tech University. The project seeks to attract data center tenants while providing up to 11 gigawatts of power from natural gas, solar, and nuclear sources by 2038.
“Diversifying our economy with nontraditional industries is paramount,” Abbott said during his remarks at the summit.
Abbott added that more details on new AI-related investments will be announced soon: “These could be bigger than Stargate.”
