In a significant stride for technological advancement and energy integration, two prominent Texas corporations have announced a landmark $1.2 billion hyperscale data center campus, distinguished as the first U.S. facility directly co-located with an existing energy source. This ambitious project, unfolding in Bosque County, signals a new era for digital infrastructure.
The collaborative endeavor brings together Dallas-based CyrusOne, a global leader in data center development and operation, and Houston-headquartered Calpine, renowned as the nation’s largest generator of electricity from natural gas and geothermal resources. Their recently formalized 190-megawatt agreement is specifically designed to power the new data center, strategically positioned adjacent to Calpine’s Thad Hill Energy Center.
This strategic partnership underscores Texas’s burgeoning prominence as a prime location for major data center construction, particularly in response to the escalating demands of artificial intelligence infrastructure. The agreement effectively secures essential power supply, critical grid connection, and ample land, ensuring a robust foundation for the facility, which is already under construction and slated for operational readiness by the close of 2026.
Echoing the enthusiasm surrounding the project, Rick Peña, Calpine’s executive vice president of corporate development, expressed profound excitement about the collaboration. He highlighted the project’s potential to deliver cutting-edge data center infrastructure to the state, projecting significant benefits including new job creation, fostering innovation, and driving substantial economic growth throughout the region.
Named DFW10, the expansive campus is being meticulously constructed by CyrusOne, a company backed by leading investment giants such as Global Infrastructure Partners, a part of BlackRock, and KKR. The initial phase of this multi-phase data center campus is projected to span over 190,000 square feet, engineered with scalable capacity to adeptly meet the anticipated surge in future data demands.
Beyond its impressive scale, the DFW10 campus is designed with a strong commitment to environmental stewardship and grid resilience. The companies have integrated several climate-neutral initiatives, emphasizing water conservation, actively promoting biodiversity protection, and incorporating robust capabilities to ensure responsive operation during critical ERCOT grid emergencies, thereby contributing to broader energy stability.
John Hatem, CyrusOne’s chief operating officer, articulated the company’s pride in being an integral part of this landmark undertaking. He emphasized that the project uniquely combines dedicated power resources with advanced data center expertise, culminating in a mission-critical solution for their clientele. Hatem further noted that as artificial intelligence continues to drive unprecedented data demand, the DFW10 campus exemplifies CyrusOne’s unwavering commitment to delivering scalable, reliable infrastructure while simultaneously bolstering grid reliability across the region.
The partnership has also garnered strong political endorsement, with GOP State Rep. Angelia Orr hailing the collaboration as a significant win for both Bosque County and the entire state of Texas. Orr praised the seamless integration of world-class energy infrastructure with cutting-edge data center development, affirming that Calpine and CyrusOne are actively shaping the future while making vital investments in rural communities. She expressed her strong support for such innovative projects that create jobs, fortify the electrical grid, and maintain Texas’s leading position in economic growth and technology.
Calpine’s formidable generation capacity, encompassing approximately 9,000 megawatts of generation along with its robust wholesale and retail platform within the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), is poised to deliver up to 400 megawatts directly to data centers within Bosque County. Furthermore, a recent industry report confirmed a sustained influx of investment from hyperscalers, developers, and AI companies into the Dallas-Fort Worth area, with current construction projected to double the region’s data center market size by the end of next year.
Leave a Reply