US data center firm Rowan Digital Infrastructure has started work on a new development in Temple, Texas.

Rowan this week announced it has broken ground on a new $700 million project in the Bell County city. The company is developing on some 700 acres along Bob White Road. At full build-out, the campus could reach 300MW.

Operations are expected in 2027, with power secured through a partnership with Oncor.

Rowan Digital Infrastructure received unanimous final approval from the Temple City Council for a data center development in Temple, at 1707 and 2351 Bob White Road, last year.

“This campus will help unlock the real-world benefits that AI and digital infrastructure can have on people’s lives,” said Rowan CEO Charley Daitch. “We’re honored to build infrastructure here that enables breakthroughs in modern medicine, helps address climate challenges, and improves the everyday lives of people around the world.”

Set up in 2021 by Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners and Birch Infrastructure, Rowan (formerly known as Rowan Green Data) is developing three campuses within TPG’s Quantum Frederick Park in Maryland. Rowan is also developing a campus in Temple and San Antonio, Texas, and a four-building campus in Oregon.

University Pension Plan Ontario is an investor in the company.

This will be Rowan’s second facility in Temple. First announced in 2021, the company completed its Moriah Data Center, located in the city’s Synergy Park at 2810 Bob White Road, in 2023. However, the tenant vacated the property in 2024, and Rowan is set to repurpose the site as a warehouse.

“This site was chosen [for a new data center] because the existing utility and Rowan power infrastructure at the Moriah facility can serve this new project – requiring no new transmission or substation construction and enabling it to become operational much faster,” Rowan’s Temple project website says.

“Hosting a project of this scale places Temple at the forefront of technology that has the power to transform lives,” said Temple Mayor Tim Davis. “Our community is playing a crucial role in supporting infrastructure that drives innovation and advances solutions that Texans rely on every day.”

Social media firm Meta is also building a large-scale data center in the City of Temple.