West Texas AI Project Ledger
Every identified project, what its dollar figure actually measures, how far along it is, and where each number comes from. Counted once, labeled honestly. As of 2026-10-24.
This is the data behind The AI Empire in Plain Sight, XNewsAi's investigation. Totals update when a project is added, resized, cancelled or completed. Money that is not investment, such as contract revenue, is listed separately and never added in.
Identified project values · West Texas · as of 2026-10-24
$119.5B–$139.5B
Identified project values — gross, mixed definitions. This is not the amount already invested, financed or spent.
The range adds every West Texas AI-related project we could document and put a dollar figure on, each counted once and each labeled by what its number actually measures: company capital estimates, state building registrations, financing programs, approved university budgets and requests. It excludes contract revenue, capacity-only projects and anything we could not tie to West Texas.
- Completed / operational
- Under construction (independently verified)
- Financed / contracted
- Approved / registered
- Announced / planned
- Requested / contingent
$27.9BDocumented in a filing, registration, financing program or approved budget
$91.5B–$111.5BAnnounced or planned only — 62% of the midpoint is a single company estimate (Fermi's)
$71MRequested and not yet appropriated
None verifiedDollars confirmed spent on completed AI facilities. What is verified operating is measured in megawatts: Galaxy's Helios Phase I (133 MW of IT load delivered) and part of Stargate Abilene
| Region | Identified project values | What is in it |
|---|---|---|
| 806 — Lubbock, Amarillo, the Panhandle and South Plains | $89.9B–$109.9B | 9 projects |
| 940 — Childress and the Rolling Plains | $7.2B | 1 projects |
| 325 — Abilene and the Big Country | $15B | 1 projects |
| 432 — The Permian Basin | $7.4B | 2 projects |
| West Texas combined | $119.5B–$139.5B | Gross, mixed definitions; not an investment total |
| Of which: documented | $27.9B | A filing, state registration, financing program or approved budget |
| Of which: announced or planned | $91.5B–$111.5B | Company estimates and announcements only |
| Of which: requested | $71M | Not appropriated |
THE MAP: WHAT IS WHERE, AND HOW REAL IT IS
Every project with a documented location, numbered to match the key below. Marker size follows the largest figure we found for it; the outline and fill show how far along it is. Pick a status to dim the rest, or select a marker to jump to its row in the ledger. Locations are schematic — placed by county or town, not at surveyed sites.
- Matador · 806 · $70B–$90B
- QTS–Lancium · 806 · $10B
- Caprock · 806 · $5B
- Amazon Floydada · 806 · $1.2B
- Helios · 806 · $3.5B
- Texas Tech NVIDIA · 806 · $25M
- Reese · 806 · $50.6M
- Cleanroom · 806 · $13M
- Texas Tech request · 806 · $71M
- Hyper (Childress) · 940 · $7.2B
- Crusoe–Lancium · 940 · no dollar figure
- Stargate Abilene · 325 · $15B
- Frontier · 325 · no dollar figure
- Kilby · 432 · $6.5B
- Amazon Fort Stockton · 432 · $900M
Squares are approved or registered filings; solid circles are financed or contracted; hatched circles are announced or planned; dashed rings are requests or projects with no dollar figure yet. Nothing on this map is shown as completed spending, because no completed spending has been verified.
FOUR REGIONS, FOUR DASHBOARDS
Telephone area codes are an editorial grouping here, not official investment or governmental boundaries.
806 — Lubbock, Amarillo, the Panhandle and South Plains
Identified project values: $89.9B–$109.9B — gross, mixed definitions.
| Status | Identified values | Projects (largest figure found) |
|---|---|---|
| Completed / operational | — | — |
| Under construction (independently verified) | — | — |
| Financed / contracted | — | — |
| Approved / registered | $4.79B | Amazon Floydada ($1.2B), Helios ($3.5B), Texas Tech NVIDIA ($25M), Reese ($50.6M), Cleanroom ($13M) |
| Announced / planned | $85B–$105B | Matador ($70B–$90B), QTS–Lancium ($10B), Caprock ($5B) |
| Requested / contingent | $71M | Texas Tech request ($71M) |
| Not yet quantifiable | — | None identified |
| Area subtotal | $89.9B–$109.9B | Counted once each; contract revenue and generation capacity are not added |
940 — Childress and the Rolling Plains
Identified project values: $7.2B — gross, mixed definitions.
| Status | Identified values | Projects (largest figure found) |
|---|---|---|
| Completed / operational | — | — |
| Under construction (independently verified) | — | — |
| Financed / contracted | — | — |
| Approved / registered | $7.2B | Hyper (Childress) ($7.2B) |
| Announced / planned | — | — |
| Requested / contingent | — | — |
| Not yet quantifiable | — | Crusoe–Lancium (1 GW campus on 270 acres announced July 2026, construction expected to begin in Q3 2026) |
| Area subtotal | $7.2B | Counted once each; contract revenue and generation capacity are not added |
325 — Abilene and the Big Country
Identified project values: $15B — gross, mixed definitions.
| Status | Identified values | Projects (largest figure found) |
|---|---|---|
| Completed / operational | — | — |
| Under construction (independently verified) | — | — |
| Financed / contracted | $15B | Stargate Abilene ($15B) |
| Approved / registered | — | — |
| Announced / planned | — | — |
| Requested / contingent | — | — |
| Not yet quantifiable | — | Frontier (More than $25B per Vantage) |
| Area subtotal | $15B | Counted once each; contract revenue and generation capacity are not added |
432 — The Permian Basin
Identified project values: $7.4B — gross, mixed definitions.
| Status | Identified values | Projects (largest figure found) |
|---|---|---|
| Completed / operational | — | — |
| Under construction (independently verified) | — | — |
| Financed / contracted | — | — |
| Approved / registered | $900M | Amazon Fort Stockton ($900M) |
| Announced / planned | $6.5B | Kilby ($6.5B) |
| Requested / contingent | — | — |
| Not yet quantifiable | — | None identified |
| Area subtotal | $7.4B | Counted once each; contract revenue and generation capacity are not added |
THE LEDGER
| Project | Figure | What the number measures | Status | Basis and sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fermi America — Project Matador 806 · Carson County, outside Amarillo Developer: Fermi Inc. Customer: TensorWave (lease signed, not closed). Landlord: Texas Tech University System. |
$70B–$90B | Company estimate of total capital needs across all phases; not financed or spent Capacity: About 11 GW of private-grid generation, expandable to about 17 GW (generation, not computing) TensorWave lease: 15 years, about $6.5B in contracted revenue, 222 MW of facility power; closing deadline Oct. 31, 2026, conditions include a rent guaranty. AMD credit-support agreement announced Oct. 13 with no terms disclosed. |
Announced / planned | Primary record read |
| QTS–Lancium campus 806 · Hall County, near Turkey Owner of campus: Lancium. Building developer/operator: QTS (Blackstone). Customer not named. |
$10B | "More than $10 billion" in expected capital investment (company figure); no megawatt figure given | Announced / planned | Primary record read |
| Aligned — Project Caprock 806 · Hale County, outside Abernathy Developer/operator: Aligned Data Centers. Construction: Ryan Companies. Power: Xcel Energy. Customer not named. |
$5B | "Aligned expects" $5B. Its release says both "infuse $5B into the regional economy" and "Anchor $5B in Investments" and never separates them, so this may be economic contribution, not capital spending Capacity: 540 MW campus; first building targeted for 2027 |
Announced / planned | Primary record read |
| Amazon — Horizon Junction, Floydada 806 · Floyd County, Floydada Owner: Amazon Data Services, Inc. |
$1.2B | Four buildings at $300M each: the owner's estimated construction cost on state registrations; excludes servers and power. A fifth record is a $2M water building Building A is filed as "Confidential Data Center" and is tied to Horizon Junction by address, owner, cost and dates. |
Approved / registered | Primary record read |
| Galaxy — Helios 806 · Dickens County, near Afton Owner/operator: Galaxy Digital. Customer: CoreWeave (15-year lease). |
$3.5B | Combined $3.5B of Phase 2 building permits (KTSM). The earlier "$4.3B" could not be found in any source Capacity: Phase I complete: 133 MW of critical IT load delivered to CoreWeave (operational). Approved capacity has expanded to 1.63 GW — approved, not built |
Approved / registered | Secondary report |
| Texas Tech — NVIDIA computing project 806 · Lubbock County, Lubbock Texas Tech University System; equipment bought through vendor ThisWay Global, Inc. |
$25M | The system says it is investing $25 million in the NVIDIA platform. Regents' May 7 agenda asked to authorize a project budget of up to $40 million (about $25.7M racks plus renovation); the outcome of that item could not be verified | Approved / registered | Secondary report |
| Texas Tech — Reese critical-infrastructure security site 806 · Lubbock County, Lubbock (Reese) Texas Tech University System |
$50.6M | Project budget ($50,587,377); listed at the design / pre-construction stage | Approved / registered | Primary record read |
| Texas Tech — semiconductor cleanroom 806 · Lubbock County, Lubbock Texas Tech University System; Texas Semiconductor Innovation Fund grant of $12 million |
$13M | Project budget ($12,988,103) at design / pre-construction. The $12M state grant is a separate figure, and the university describes a $24M total with its match; the figures are not reconciled and are not added | Approved / registered | Primary record read |
| Texas Tech — advanced-computing expansion request 806 · Lubbock County, Lubbock Texas Tech University System, asking the Legislature |
$71M | Legislative appropriations request for 2028–29 ($37M in FY2028, $34.1M in FY2029); not appropriated | Requested / contingent | Secondary report |
| Project Hyper — Childress buildings 940 · Childress County, Childress County Owners on the filings: Childress DC1, DC2 and DC3 LLC (design firm HKS). Press links the project to Crusoe/Lancium; the records do not name them. |
$7.2B | Three buildings at $2.4B each ($7.2B is our arithmetic): the owner's estimated construction cost on state registrations; not financing | Approved / registered | Primary record read |
| Crusoe–Lancium Childress campus 940 · Childress County, Childress Land: Lancium. Designer/operator: Crusoe. Customer: an unnamed hyperscaler. |
Not yet quantifiable | 1 GW campus on 270 acres announced July 2026, construction expected to begin in Q3 2026; no dollar figure disclosed | Announced / planned | Primary record read |
| Stargate Abilene — Crusoe, Blue Owl and Primary Digital 325 · Taylor (Abilene) County, Abilene Developer/operator: Crusoe. Funding partners: Blue Owl Capital and Primary Digital Infrastructure. Land and power: Lancium. Tenant: Oracle, with OpenAI as the user (reported). |
$15B | A $15 billion joint-venture funding program for the 1.2 GW campus (Crusoe, May 21, 2025). Not the $500B national Stargate target, and not OpenAI's money Capacity: Epoch AI estimated about 0.3 GW operating in April 2026 and 1.2 GW projected |
Financed / contracted | Primary record read |
| Vantage — Frontier 325 · Shackelford County, Albany area Developer: Vantage. Oracle as owner and OpenAI as user (reported). |
Not yet quantifiable | More than $25B per Vantage; Epoch AI estimates $53B for 1.4 GW. Held out of the total until the primary pages and the area-code assignment are verified | Announced / planned | Relayed — primary page not readable |
| Chevron–Microsoft — Project Kilby 432 · Reeves County, Reeves County Applicant: Energy Forge One LLC (a Chevron subsidiary). Customer: Microsoft (20-year power agreement). |
$6.5B | $6.5 billion proposed investment in the Texas JETI tax-limitation application for the power plant — not Microsoft's data-center cost. Chevron has not disclosed a cost; press estimates run $7B–$9B Capacity: About 2.67 GW of generation capacity in phases (generation, not computing); final investment decision targeted before year-end 2026 |
Announced / planned | Primary record read |
| Amazon — Pecos County data center 432 · Pecos County, near Fort Stockton Owner: Amazon Data Services, Inc. |
$900M | Three buildings at $300M each: the owner's estimated construction cost. Buildings A and B were read in the state records; Building C relies on a trade-press summary | Approved / registered | Primary record read |
Money that is not investment, kept out of the total
| Item | Amount | Kind | Why it is not added |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fermi–TensorWave 15-year lease | $6.5B | lease revenue | Contracted revenue to Fermi if the lease closes. It is not added to Fermi's capital-needs estimate. |
Also left out:
- Google's $40 billion Texas announcement (statewide through 2027; no West Texas share is documented)
- The $500 billion national Stargate target (never assigned to Abilene)
- ERCOT's roughly $4.1 billion Panhandle 765 kV transmission plan (still in study, not a project)
- Microsoft's reported rental of about 700 MW next to Stargate in Abilene (no dollar figure; not confirmed on the record)
WHO IS CONNECTED TO WHOM
| Project | Texas Tech System role | Public bodies, incentives and conditions found |
|---|---|---|
| Fermi America — Project Matador | Documented. 99-year ground lease from the Texas Tech System (Ex. 10.9 to Fermi's S-11); Fermi needs a notice to proceed by Dec. 31, 2026, tied to a Phase 1 tenant of at least 200 MW. | Texas Tech System Board of Regents (landlord); Carson County (10-year property-tax abatement approved Oct. 2025); TCEQ (air permit); City of Amarillo (water) |
| QTS–Lancium campus | None found. No Texas Tech role found. | None named; the companies say they fund 100% of the energy infrastructure improvements |
| Aligned — Project Caprock | None found. No Texas Tech role found. | City of Abernathy (supportive); no incentives stated |
| Amazon — Horizon Junction, Floydada | None found. No Texas Tech role found. | TDLR (registration); no incentives found |
| Galaxy — Helios | None found. No Texas Tech role found. | Not researched |
| Texas Tech — NVIDIA computing project | Documented. Texas Tech System project. | Texas Tech System Board of Regents (purchase made under a chairman's exigent-circumstances approval, acknowledged by the board in February) |
| Texas Tech — Reese critical-infrastructure security site | Documented. Texas Tech System construction project. | Texas Tech System |
| Texas Tech — semiconductor cleanroom | Documented. Texas Tech System project with a state grant. | Texas CHIPS Office / Governor's office (grant); Texas Tech System |
| Texas Tech — advanced-computing expansion request | Documented. Texas Tech System request. | Texas Legislature (convenes January) |
| Project Hyper — Childress buildings | None found. No Texas Tech role found. | TDLR (registered Sept. 11, 2026); no incentives found |
| Crusoe–Lancium Childress campus | None found. No Texas Tech role found. | None found |
| Stargate Abilene — Crusoe, Blue Owl and Primary Digital | None found. No Texas Tech role found. | Not researched |
| Vantage — Frontier | None found. No Texas Tech role found. | Not researched |
| Chevron–Microsoft — Project Kilby | None found. No Texas Tech role found. | Texas Comptroller (JETI agreement posted July 24, 2026); Pecos-Barstow-Toyah ISD |
| Amazon — Pecos County data center | None found. No Texas Tech role found. | TDLR (registered Aug. 4, 2026); no incentives found |
"None found" means we looked and found no role in the sources we could read. It is not a finding that no relationship exists. A role being documented does not by itself show influence over any decision.