New Era Energy & Digital CEO Will Gray joined Steve Darling from Proactive to announce a major expansion milestone for the company’s flagship digital infrastructure development. Texas Critical Data Centers (TCDC)—the company’s 50/50 joint venture with Sharon AI, Inc.—has finalized a definitive purchase and sale agreement to acquire an additional 203 contiguous acres near Odessa, Texas. This brings the total development footprint to 438 acres, significantly boosting the site’s capacity to support a multi-phase, multi-gigawatt AI and high-performance computing (HPC) campus designed to scale well beyond 1 gigawatt.

Gray explained that this enlarged footprint provides the long-term scalability required as global demand for AI compute accelerates and enterprises pursue increasingly GPU-intensive workloads. He added that the company is already in active commercial discussions with several prospective tenants seeking large-scale, power-dense environments with future-proof expansion capabilities—criteria that the expanded TCDC site is uniquely positioned to meet.

The site also offers multiple strategic advantages that strengthen project economics and reduce development friction. Its proximity to high-capacity fiber routes, major intrastate natural-gas transmission lines, and existing CO₂ pipeline corridors provides opportunities for efficient power integration, advanced cooling solutions, and optionality for future carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) systems. These infrastructure synergies are expected to lower interconnection complexity, shorten development timelines, and enable TCDC to deploy sustainable, high-performance digital infrastructure at scale.

Gray also detailed the company’s ongoing geotechnical and engineering work, including drilling and civil studies essential for large-scale data center construction. He emphasized that New Era is shifting from a powered land model toward a powered shell development strategy—prioritizing long-term recurring revenue streams rather than short-term land sales. This strategic pivot reflects the company’s broader vision to operate as a vertically integrated digital infrastructure developer.

As part of that effort, TCDC is currently in exclusive discussions on a potential triple net lease with a major anchor tenant. While Gray noted that a formal announcement is unlikely in the fourth quarter, he said the company anticipates finalizing the agreement in early Q1.

Operational milestones remain on schedule for 2026, including Phase 1 construction and initial tenant occupancy. To support execution, Gray said the company plans to make several C-suite hires and expand its development and engineering teams as planning progresses.

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