A major artificial intelligence infrastructure project near Amarillo is expanding again, as developers push forward with plans to significantly increase its power capacity and scale.
Fermi America, in partnership with the Texas Tech University System, announced that it will file for an additional 5-gigawatt Clean Air Permit with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. The filing is tied to its massive Project Matador campus, a proposed AI-focused data center complex in the Amarillo area.
According to the company, the new permit application will be submitted “within weeks” of receiving approval for its initial 6GW Clean Air Permit. If approved, the expansion would bring the site’s total planned capacity to roughly 17GW, positioning it as what developers describe as the world’s largest private power grid.
The planned energy mix reflects a broad approach to generation, including 11GW of clean natural gas, 4.4GW of nuclear energy, along with supplemental solar and battery storage systems. The scale underscores the rapidly growing energy demands associated with artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, and advanced manufacturing.
Toby Neugebauer, co-founder and CEO of Fermi America, framed the expansion as a response to national energy needs. “Leave it to Texas to answer the call for America’s energy crisis,” he said. Neugebauer added, “Why would we settle for 6GW of clean natural gas when the country needs more power, not less, and our site is beyond capable of safely producing 11GW? Fermi is pleased to steward this land and environment well, while creating additional high-paying jobs and economic development for the region.”
The company also linked its strategy to reliability concerns tied to past winter storms and broader policy discussions around energy independence. In its release, Fermi America argued that increasing demand from sectors such as AI, defense, and domestic manufacturing is outpacing the capabilities of traditional infrastructure.
“The only answer is private power grids,” the company stated, adding that “the public grid was not designed to scale at the speed of AI.” It further emphasized that Project Matador is intended to “deliver power certainty at scale” while meeting the needs of hyperscale computing customers.
