Fermi America has acquired more than 600MW of natural gas generation for its planned HyperGrid AI campus in Amarillo, Texas.

The assets were acquired across two deals and are in support of Fermi’s goal to deliver 1GW of AI power at the site by 2026.

"The executed agreements will allow Fermi America to acquire highly reliable, energy-efficient, and environmentally advanced power generation systems to support the artificial intelligence campus," said Fermi America's chief power procurement officer, Larry Kellerman. "The initial fleet represents ISO rated capability of [more than] 600MW of power generation equipment that is available for shipment and refurbishment, avoiding multi-year Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) lead times."

The first agreement was struck with Firebird LNG in conjunction with Siemens Energy. The acquired assets comprise six SGT800 gas turbines, six heat recovery steam generators, and one SST600 steam turbine.

The assets have a combined capacity of 478MW, estimated to be 400-plus MW at site elevation, with each SGT800 turbine generating up to 62GW of power.

The second acquisition, completed in June, comprised three secondary market GE 6B Frame class industrial gas turbines and a paired steam turbine. Formally in operation at a heavy industrial site in New Jersey, Fermi aims to refurbish the turbines through a GE-certified maintenance and repair organization, before deploying them at the site in Amarillo.

When operational, the turbines are expected to have a generation capacity of 135MW at ISO conditions. When the heat recovery steam generators are installed, the turbine's capacity will increase to more than 200MW. The seller of the turbines was not disclosed.

A gargantuan campus

The HyperGrid campus is set to integrate several different energy sources to power it, including “the largest nuclear power complex in America, the nation’s biggest combined-cycle natural gas project, utility grid power, solar power, and battery energy storage to deliver next-generation artificial intelligence,” according to the company.

The campus is being developed in partnership with the Texas Tech University System. It will span 5,769 acres and, at full buildout, will have the potential to deliver up to 11GW of power. According to the company, geotechnical work on the campus has commenced, with the first power expected by the end of 2026.

Fermi America was founded in January of this year and is headed up by former US Secretary of Energy, Rick Perry. According to the Washington Post, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is currently reviewing Fermi’s application, which could include four 1GW nuclear reactors.

Per the application, the company wants to install four Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear reactors. The last set of AP1000 units to come online in the US market was at the Vogtle plant in Georgia back in 2023. They came in $17 billion over budget and more than seven years behind schedule.

According to executive chairman Toby Neugebauer, the nuclear complex could be completed by 2032, which is extremely ambitious given the often long lead times faced by new nuclear projects. Neugebauer said that the location of the project in the Texas Panhandle will expedite the process, exclaiming that, “If you can’t do it here, you can’t do it anywhere.”

The project is expected to be powered predominantly through behind-the-meter power, which Neugebauer says is “the only solution for America's AI dominance."

Details on how the project is being financed are not available. However, the company has been open in its praise of Donald Trump, who appointed Perry as Energy Secretary during his first term in office. Therefore, it could be angling for federal support to supplement the financing of the project.