New Era Energy & Digital (NASDAQ:NUAI) CEO Will Gray talked with Proactive about the company’s continued transformation from a helium and natural gas operator into an AI infrastructure-focused enterprise.
Gray outlined how the company's third-quarter financials reflect forward-looking investment, with substantial funds directed toward the build-out of powered shell data centers in Odessa, Texas.
He explained that this type of infrastructure requires intensive planning and high capital, with costs between $8 million to $12 million per megawatt to construct.
The CEO also confirmed that multiple discussions are ongoing with potential tenants, but stressed the scale and complexity of due diligence involved. Funding will come from institutional and asset-level back financing, not just equity issuance, a structure Gray says will limit shareholder dilution.
He highlighted that New Era's approach and West Texas location have attracted attention from tier-one financial institutions and technology firms.
Proactive: Welcome back inside our Proactive newsroom. And joining me now is Will Gray. He is the CEO of New Era Energy and Digital. And it's great to have you back again. How are you?
Will Gray: Hey, doing well. Yourself?
I'm doing very well, thank you. And excited to talk to you about a number of different things that's going on. First off, you have released your third quarter financial numbers. And when you look at the page, the numbers kind of jump out at you. But there's really a story behind the numbers. I think that's what you need to tell today. Is that accurate?
That's very accurate. I mean, obviously, as we transition from a helium natural gas company to an AI infrastructure powered shell company, the numbers tell two different stories. One thing we want to share with shareholders is that the dollars we've spent are for future earnings, anticipated once we sign a tenant on the property.
Building out data centers doesn’t happen overnight. It can cost between $8 to $12 million per megawatt. If someone is going to spend $5 to $10 billion on just a powered shell, there’s an enormous amount of due diligence. We’ve done a good job hitting milestones at our Odessa, Texas site in the Permian Basin.
There are so many pre-FID requirements—subsurface, surface, soil analysis, foundational assessments. It's been amazing going through it all to get to a signed tenant. We’re in discussions with multiple parties, and we hope to announce something soon, but due diligence takes time.
Yeah. And I'm sure that's the question you get from people following the company. There's a process that has to be followed. And the Q3 numbers reflect that, with the light really being at the end of the tunnel.
Exactly. We’re a real company. People have visited the site. I think if we weren’t legitimate, that would be obvious by now. You always get naysayers. I’m not the smartest guy in the room, but I will outwork anyone.
A year ago, our thesis was behind-the-meter power generation—no grid connectivity. We were laughed at. Now, everyone’s talking about that, including Nvidia’s CEO. Grid limitations are real across the U.S., no matter the power jurisdiction.
I care about my community in West Texas. If we can generate our own electricity and avoid pulling from the grid, why wouldn’t we? Also, look up the “spark spread”—people need to understand that and Permian Basin gas pricing. By the way, ChatGPT uses ten times more energy than a Google search—so go for it!
You’re obviously looking at funding from multiple sources. Can you share any details on how you plan to finance these large projects?
Yes, and that’s why we put it in the press release. Shareholders are asking. I’m a shareholder too—I want minimal dilution with maximum revenues. With powered shells costing up to $12 million per megawatt, for a 500 MW site, that's $5 billion.
So yes, we will have to raise that amount, but not entirely from equity. We're educating people—this is new for us on the powered shell side, but we’re working with experienced consultants and financial institutions. We're looking at institutional funding, pension funds, and asset-level backed financing—more off-balance-sheet, more debt.
Some funding will come from Topco, but New Era doesn’t need to issue $5 billion in stock. The tenant’s balance sheet will drive the financing terms. Until we lock in that tenant, we can’t provide financial guidance.
Makes sense. You’ve mentioned AI being here to stay. Can you speak on current market sentiment?
Yes. People say there's an AI bubble. I disagree. Like the internet, AI is here to stay. Some companies raised too much at high multiples and might not survive. That’s not us.
We’ve got a clean balance sheet and a strong asset. It’s all about location. Our campus is positioned very well—and that’s why we’re in discussions with major players.
There’s been a bit of a shakeout in the data center sector. You’re obviously following that closely.
Absolutely. We monitor peer comps daily. One company is down 40% over a month, another 35%, while we’re up over 30%. That shows we’re a strong value buy.
We’ve got more than 20,000 shareholders—some long-term, others retail day-traders. Institutions and big banks are taking note of what we have. This will evolve into a phenomenal play.
Quotes have been lightly edited for clarity and style