Texas Governor Greg Abbott has indicated that the state is preparing for a significant increase in investments related to data centers and artificial intelligence. Speaking at a Texas Economic Development investor summit, Abbott emphasized the importance of diversifying the state’s economy by attracting nontraditional industries.
His comments come as Oracle, OpenAI, and SoftBank plan to invest $400 billion over three years in AI data centers across the United States through a joint venture called “Project Stargate.” The first campus under this initiative opened earlier this year in Abilene, Texas. Additional Stargate sites are planned for Shackleford County and Milam County in Texas, as well as Lordstown, Ohio; Doña Ana County, New Mexico; and another location in the Midwest.
Abbott suggested that more AI-related investments will be announced soon for Texas, potentially surpassing Project Stargate in scale. Once all five new facilities are operational, they are expected to provide seven gigawatts of capacity for AI-related data processing. This expansion could result in 25,000 onsite jobs and thousands of additional positions nationwide.
The Abilene data center alone is projected to consume six gigawatts of electricity—almost twice the daily usage of the Rio Grande Valley region in Texas. The state’s available land and infrastructure have contributed to its status as a hub for data centers. According to CBRE, Dallas-Fort Worth holds about one-tenth of the U.S. data center market share—the largest after Northern Virginia.
However, concerns remain about whether Texas’ power grid can keep up with growing demand from these developments. Curt Holcomb from JLL noted that more than a gigawatt of capacity is currently under construction in Dallas-Fort Worth, with an additional four gigawatts being planned. The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects that electricity demand from data computing will rise by 7 percent this year and by 15 percent in 2026.
Some developers are proposing integrated solutions that include on-site electricity generation along with their data center projects. Fermi Inc., co-founded by former Governor Rick Perry, has introduced “Project Matador” on land owned by Texas Tech University—a proposed 5,000-acre campus aiming to attract major tenants while planning for 11 gigawatts of power generation from natural gas, solar energy, and nuclear sources by 2038.
Governor Abbott stated: “Texas produces more electricity than any other state,” noting it generates about 12 percent of the nation’s total supply.
The rapid growth raises questions about how water and energy resources will be managed as technology-driven demand continues to expand across Texas.
