Texas Critical Data Centers (TCDC) has signed a non-binding Letter of Intent (LOI) with Roth CH Acquisition to acquire an additional 203 acres for its planned AI data center development in Ector County, Texas.

The company, a joint venture (JV) between Sharon AI and New Era Energy & Digital, has already acquired a 235-acre plot where it plans to site the data center. The latest acquisition expands the plot on which the companies plan to build the data center to 438 acres.

According to the companies, the combined 438 acres have passed initial environmental and feasibility assessments, with the partners currently working on an air permit for the intended behind-the-meter power.

The data center is expected to have an initial capacity of 250MW, with the potential to scale beyond 1GW. According to the partners, it will integrate advanced energy, cooling, and the potential for carbon capture, utilization, and storage.

To support power generation at the site, TCDC also 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. Thunderhead has stated that it intends to deploy a combination of reciprocating engines and turbines at the Ector County site over the next 18 months, subject to end-customer offtake agreements.

In September, TCDC signed a non-binding LOI with Mawgan Capital to deploy 250MW of gas generation to supply the data center. Under the terms of the LOI, Mawgan intends to finance and deliver the generation system through its Digital Zero Power product. The company claims that its product provides a comprehensive end-to-end supply chain decarbonization solution, utilizing low-carbon-intensity gas certificates and carbon credits.

Construction of the generation system is expected to begin later this year, with full commissioning targeted over the next 18 months.

TCDC has said that the behind-the-meter configuration is designed to comply with the new Texas Senate Bill 6 (SB6) regulations that impact large loads like data centers on the Electric Reliability Council of Texas power grid.

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.

Commenting on the latest announcements, Wolf Schubert, CEO of Sharon AI, said: “We are pleased to announce these milestones, demonstrating progress in our strategy to build one of the premier AI data center campuses in the United States. By collaborating on a fully outsourced power solution with Thunderhead, low-latency fiber connectivity with GlobeLink, and sustainable decarbonization initiatives with Mawgan, we are positioning TCDC to meet the growing demand for sustainable, high-performance compute.”

Plans for the data center first emerged in late 2024. At the time, the campus had an expected capacity of 90MW; however, following the acquisition of a larger plot of land, the project was expanded to 250MW.

The site will 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.

Founded last year, Sharon AI is a high-performance computing company focused on AI cloud GPU compute infrastructure. The company has Nvidia L40S and H100s, and AMD MI3000X GPUs at Equinix and NextDC data centers, as well as custom-built modular data centers.

New Era is an exploration and production company that sources helium produced in association with the production of natural gas reserves in the US.