New Era Energy & Digital (NASDAQ:NUAI) earlier this week shared a major step forward in its data center ambitions, announcing a strategic partnership with Primary Digital Infrastructure.
Speaking to Proactive following the PTC26 conference in Hawaii, CEO Will Gray said the collaboration would enable New Era to focus on what it does best — behind-the-meter power generation using natural gas — while Primary brings decades of experience in building data centers at scale.
The company is planning to deliver up to one gigawatt of data center capacity in phases, specifically targeting hyperscale customers. Gray described the Primary Digital partnership as a “major domino” in the company’s development roadmap, enabling them to move toward signing a triple net lease agreement by the end of Q1, a milestone that would trigger the final investment decision.
Gray addressed skepticism around delivering such a large-scale facility by stressing the credibility Primary brings, with past involvement in major infrastructure projects including Digital Realty, CyrusOne, and the Infomart in Dallas. He said the scale of investment required, estimated between $10 to $14 million per megawatt, and up to $30 billion when fully built, is not widely appreciated.
The CEO also emphasized that New Era’s energy model avoids the constraints of the traditional power grid. “We have a power plant that's co-located next to our power facility,” he said. “We're not accessing the grid… we’re not driving up residential or commercial electric prices.”
Gray also said that the company plans to minimize dilution by pursuing project-level equity and debt.