New Era Energy & Digital (NASDAQ:NUAI) announced it has entered into a partnership with Primary Digital Infrastructure to co-develop the Texas Critical Data Centers (TCDC) project, a hyperscale data center campus planned for Ector County in the Permian Basin region of Texas.
The companies will co-sponsor the project, which is designed as an approximately 1 GW+ campus engineered to support next-generation hyperscale computing requirements.
TCDC is planned to incorporate both grid-connected and behind-the-meter power generation solutions, with additional capacity for future expansion.
E. Will Gray II, New Era CEO, described the partnership with Primary Digital as a “watershed moment” for the company.
“Their team’s unparalleled track record, from developing global data center portfolios to financing multi-billion dollar projects, provides the critical expertise required to execute a development of this scale,” Gray said.
“We remain on track to sign a hyperscale anchor tenant in line with our previous guidance, and we believe this development will deliver significant and durable value to our NUAI shareholders and project stakeholders.”
As lead capital partner and co-sponsor, Primary Digital Infrastructure is expected to contribute to development execution, capital markets structuring, and tenant engagement.
The firm’s relationships with cloud and artificial intelligence companies are intended to support efforts to secure an anchor hyperscale tenant for the project’s initial phase, which is planned near Odessa, Texas. Primary Digital Infrastructure will also assist in arranging financing for the development.
“With an experienced, well-capitalized partner like New Era, together we will deliver a strategically located, hyperscale-ready campus that is designed to meet the demands of investment-grade tenants seeking reliable solutions for their advanced computing needs,” Primary Digital Infrastructure Bill Stein said.
The announcement follows Primary Digital Infrastructure’s previously disclosed investments, including its involvement in the Stargate program, a $15 billion joint venture with Crusoe Energy Systems and Blue Owl Capital. That initiative includes a planned 1.2 GW AI-focused data center campus in Abilene, Texas, which has secured more than $11.6 billion in combined debt and equity financing.
Separately, the company announced that it has completed its acquisition of Sharon AI’s 50% ownership interest in TCDC.
“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,” Gray said. “This buy-out agreement reflects a constructive outcome for both parties and positions TCDC for its next stage of development as we shift from planning to execution.”