New Era Energy & Digital has closed its acquisition of Sharon AI’s 50 percent stake in their data center joint venture, Texas Critical Data Centers (TCDC).

The deal announced late last year will see New Era gain full control of the company, which is developing a data center campus in Ector County, Texas. The project is expected to have an initial capacity of 250MW, with the potential to scale beyond 1GW. The company acquired a 438-acre plot of land last year, where it plans to construct the facility.

Commenting on the deal, E. Will Gray II, CEO of New Era Energy & Digital, said: “We appreciate the support of Sharon AI throughout the development phase of TCDC. Their partnership helped us move the project forward, and we are grateful for their collaboration.”

Following Sharon's divestment, New Era has partnered with Primary Digital Infrastructure, an independent data center investment platform, to codevelop the project. The company is part of the joint venture that is behind the flagship Stargate data center development in Abilene, Texas.

According to the companies, the partners will co-sponsor the project, which they claim will feature both grid and behind-the-meter power generation solutions with significant future expansion potential.

“The formation of our partnership with Primary Digital is a watershed moment for New Era Energy & Digital and a powerful validation of our vision,” added Gray.

The companies argued that the partnership will help secure a hyperscaler anchor tenant for the project’s initial phase, as well as support the structuring and arranging of the financing required for the project's buildout.

“The next wave of hyperscale and AI infrastructure is being built where power is abundant, flexible, and economically advantaged. This tactical co-development project exemplifies that shift while aligning with our strategy of building portfolios of high-quality, risk-mitigated data center assets that are critical to tomorrow’s digital economy,” said Bill Stein, executive managing director and chief investment officer at Primary Digital Infrastructure.

TCDC has already secured several agreements to support the build-out of the data center. To support power generation at the site, TCDC executed a non-binding letter agreement with Thunderhead Energy Solutions, an on-site generation firm, to finance, construct, and operate around 250MW of behind-the-meter gas-fired power generation. In addition, in September, TCDC signed a non-binding LOI with Mawgan Capital to deploy 250MW of gas generation to supply the data center.

To ensure connectivity for the data center, TCDC also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with GlobeLink to purchase the right to use dark fiber and associated operations and maintenance services. As part of the MoU, GlobeLink has stated its intention to develop a 1,600-mile (2,574km) fiber optic network spanning Texas, specifically designed to support AI workloads.

The site is expected to be developed in phases, with the first 100MW segment expected to come online by December 2026. The remaining 150MW is slated for completion six months after the first phase is completed. It is unclear whether the acquisition and new partnership will affect the data center's construction timeline.

However, it is not all good news for the project. Last week, it emerged that Rosen Law Firm had begun investigating securities claims against New Era Energy & Digital for allegedly issuing misleading business information, emphasizing the firm's commitment to protecting investor rights. The investigation led the company’s share price to slide 6.9 percent, with reports suggesting that the law firm is preparing a class action lawsuit, allowing investors to participate in claims without upfront cost.