< Previoust’s true: In Texas everything seems linked to the next thing, undergirded by local and state policies and continuing in- migration of individuals and companies. How well is the economy cooking? In August Governor Greg Abbott reported the state had reached a new record for total Texans working (including self-employed) at ,, and had added , jobs over the preceding months. Here the Site Selection editorial team presents glimpses of a state that took a devastating punch from July fl ooding in Hill Country but whose economy keeps rolling. Future of AI Goes Nuclear in Texas Panhandle A coalition led by former Texas Governor and U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry and Texas Tech University is promising to turn a vast tract of vacant land in the Texas Panhandle into nuclear-powered, artifi cial intelligence gold. Known as the Fermi America HyperGrid AI campus, the project is being built on a ,-acre site owned by Texas Tech near Amarillo and close to the DOE’s Pantex Nuclear Weapons Facility, which has served as America’s primary plant for assembling the U.S. nuclear arsenal since . But it’s not a nuclear arms race that interests Perry. It’s a race with China to establish global supremacy in AI hyperscale data centers. “ e Chinese are building nuclear reactors today,” Perry said at the June project announcement. “We’re behind, and it’s all hands on deck. President Trump’s fi rst executive order spoke to the energy issue and how we must continue to make America energy dominant. No one does energy better than Texas.” Perry plans to use the company he founded to do it. Fermi America is an energy development fi rm whose goal is to power the future of AI. To accomplish that, Fermi has teamed up with Texas Tech to develop an -gigawatt (GW) data center campus with million sq. ft. of AI infrastructure in the middle of the High Plains region of the Texas Panhandle. If successful, HyperGrid would be the world’s largest advanced- energy and AI campus. TEXAS STATE SPOTLIGHT In the Lone Star State, one thing just leads to another. 164 SEPTEMBER 2025 SITE SELECTION The joint-venture Fermi America-Texas Tech University HyperGrid campus is planned to be constructed near Amarillo, Texas. Rendering courtesy of Fermi America SITE SELECTION SEPTEMBER 2025 165 Perry has said that the project will draw GW of power from on-site nuclear energy generation that will be developed by Hyundai Engineering & Construction. e remaining GW, he says, will come from natural gas, solar energy and battery power. Fermi has already signed agreements to acquire MW of gas turbines to support the initial data center operations, which the company says will start by the end of . Fermi plans to develop four -GW nuclear reactors which are currently under review by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. In August Fermi announced it is partnering with Westinghouse to fi nalize the overall project application for the four AP nuclear plants. Located just off U.S. Highway between the cities of Amarillo and Panhandle, HyperGrid would be the largest project ever to come to Carson County, which has a population of , people. Nearby Amarillo has ,. Texas Tech Chancellor Tedd L. Mitchell says his university is an enthusiastic partner that embraces the opportunity to host “this historic endeavor.” “ e Texas Tech University System and Texas Tech University own the property and have entered into a ground lease agreement with Fermi America, which is managing the development project,” Mitchell says. “We take our role as responsible stewards of the land seriously and are grateful for this visionary partnership that will encourage long-term growth and sustainability and address important needs of our region, state and nation.” He says the project will open up new academic and research opportunities for faculty and students and lead to new internships, workforce training programs and ultimately employment for many TTU graduates across the state. “ is project intends to include the construction of an academic and research facility featuring offi ce, classroom and conference spaces,” he notes. When asked why Fermi chose this site in remote northern Texas, Mitchell said that DOE had recently identifi ed the property owned by TTU as one of sites suitable nationwide for potential data center and energy infrastructure development. “ e Texas Tech University System was approached by Fermi America regarding entering into a ground lease agreement for the development project,” he wrote in an email response to a question from Site Selection. “TTU is contributing to this project solely as the landholder.” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott paved the way for the deal by signing HB into law during the most recent legislative session. e bill creates the Texas Advanced Nuclear Energy Offi ce and invests $ million into revolutionizing the nuclear industry in Texas. His press secretary Andrew Mahaleris told Site Selection that “Texas is the energy capital of the world, and we stand ready to lead a nuclear power renaissance in the U.S.” Fermi leaders have done this elsewhere. A spokesperson for the company, which has $. billion in assets under management, said the fi rm has “a proven leadership team in nuclear experts who have a successful track record of bringing AP projects online in China and Abu Dhabi on time and in budget.” As for the Texas site, the spokesperson says, “ e campus itself is strategically situated on critical natural resources, including one of the nation’s largest natural gas fi elds; several of the country’s largest gas pipelines; prime solar resources; the largest repository of helium for next-generation cooling; and the nation’s top-tier fi ber infrastructure.” Proximity to the Anadarko Basin, the largest known natural gas deposit in North America, makes the project possible. Fermi executives say they hope to activate GW of natural gas-sourced power at the site by late next year. Meanwhile, in August, Fermi America announced it had signed an MOU with ASP Isotopes Inc. and its subsidiary Quantum Leap Energy LLC (QLE) to explore the development of a High Assay Low Enriched Uranium (HALEU) enrichment facility at the Carson County site. What sets HyperGrid apart from We take our role as responsible stewards of the land seriously and are grateful for this visionary partnership that will encourage long-term growth and sustainability and address important needs of our region, state and nation.” — Tedd L. Mitchell , Chancellor, Texas Tech University System We take our role as responsible stewards 166 SEPTEMBER 2025 SITE SELECTION HARBOR BRIDGE EMBODIES TEXAS INFRASTRUCTURE PUSH A fter working through minor construction delays that postponed a planned May ribbon cutting after fi ve years of construction, the $1.3 billion Harbor Bridge in Corpus Christi opened to southbound traffi c in late June. Built to accommodate taller ships stacked with cargo, the bridge towers 200 feet above the ship channel and is the longest concrete segmental cable-stayed bridge in North America with a main span of 1,661 feet. The bridge also features a 10-foot- wide, 2.4-mile shared-use path. “To remain the best state for business, Texas must bolster our roadway infrastructure to meet the demands of our booming economy,” said Governor Greg Abbott. “The new Harbor Bridge is not only a testament to the collaboration, expertise, and dedication of the public and private sectors — it’s a gateway for jobs, trade and continued growth in the Coastal Bend. As more businesses and families fl ock to our state, we will continue to invest in the infrastructure that keeps Texas moving forward.” “With an expected service life of 170 years,” said Texas Transportation Commissioner Alejandro “Alex” Meade III in Corpus Christi, “this bridge will benefi t the region for decades to come by providing faster commutes, safer travel and more economic opportunity.” As of October 2024 TxDOT had under contract over $53 billion in projects under construction. The department’s Project Tracker in August showed 7,593 projects valued at nearly $48 billion where construction was underway or beginning soon, and another 7,694 projects worth $59 billion scheduled to begin within the next four years. TxDOT’s draft 2026 Unifi ed Transportation Program (UTP), now taking in public feedback, includes an estimated $101.6 billion for projects statewide, with around $7.5 billion of new funding. It will be the third consecutive year the UTP exceeds $100 billion. — Adam Bruns Photos courtesy of Harbor Bridge Project and TxDOT168 SEPTEMBER 2025 SITE SELECTION other AI hubs, the Fermi spokesperson says, is that “unlike other projects that are reliant on the nation’s current grid energy system, Fermi is a behind-the- meter private grid, giving Texas the energy it needs to continue its growth and innovation trajectory, without taking power away from our neighbors and small businesses.” Fermi is not the only entity planning massive AI data centers in Texas. Energy Abundance plans to construct a giant AI complex on 50,000 acres near Laredo; and Stargate is a planned $500 billion project currently underway in Abilene in West Texas. The data center arms race is only just beginning, according to real estate forecaster Newmark. “Cloud capex for top hyperscalers has grown by 30% CAGR over the last five years,” a recent Newmark report states. “AI’s impact on the data center industry is still in the very early innings. On a macro scale, data center demand in the U.S. is expected to reach 35 GW by 2030, up from 17 GW in 2022.” By 2030, the report notes, hyperscalers will exceed $1 trillion in new investment into data centers. According to the Conway Projects Database, nearly one-fourth of all new data centers in the U.S. since the start of 2020 have occurred in Texas. Some 600 new data centers have been announced in the U.S. during the last half-decade. Texas leads all states with 140. Globally, 300 new hyperscale data center facilities have been launched over the last two years, with 39% of them landing in the U.S., per Statista. China is No. 2, followed by Japan. — Ron Starner Texas Adds to Energy Portfolio A stalwart energy leader, Texas is known for its strong holdings in natural gas reserves and renewable energy options like wind, solar and battery storage. In a July 2025 analysis, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicted that U.S. retail electricity sales to ultimate customers or end-users will grow at an annual rate of 2.2% in 2025 and 2026, compared with an average growth of 0.8% recorded between 2020 and 2024. The EIA forecasts rapid electricity demand growth for Texas and several mid- Atlantic states — and industry is not slowing down any time soon. Xcel Energy, a major U.S. electricity and gas company with operations in eight Western and Midwestern states, recently announced its intent to expand its energy portfolio in Texas and New Mexico to meet soaring electricity demands. The addition of 17 new generation projects will add 5,168 megawatts (MW) of capacity by 2030, with the utility stating its expectations that consumer demand in this area will grow by more than 40% by that year. This expansion will include 3,200 MW of dispatchable generation and energy storage and 1,968 MW of wind and solar. Growing population numbers, industrial expansion and increased electrification were noted as drivers of electricity demand. New requirements set by Southwest OpenAI, which in January committed to invest $500 billion into 10 gigawatts of AI infrastructure in the U.S. over the next four years, announced in July it has entered into an agreement with Oracle to develop 4.5 gigawatts of additional Stargate data center capacity in the U.S. “Together with our Stargate I site in Abilene, Texas [pictured], this additional partnership with Oracle will bring us to over 5 gigawatts of Stargate AI data center capacity under development, which will run over 2 million chips,” stated an OpenAI release. The company estimates that building, developing and operating the additional 4.5 GW of data center capacity “will create over 100,000 jobs across construction and operations roles in the U.S.” Photo courtesy of OpenAI170 SEPTEMBER 2025 SITE SELECTION Power Pool, which manages the electric grid and wholesale power market for the central U.S. that includes parts of north Texas and eastern New Mexico, have further put pressure on utilities to add capacity to meet increasing seasonal demand. Xcel invited proposals in 2024 for new power projects comprising any technology, resulting in a diversity of energy solutions that include wind, solar, battery storage and gas power. The projects will be built and owned by different entities, some owned by Xcel Energy or built by developers and sold back to the utility. There are also plans to extend the lives of existing natural gas facilities at Maddox power station in New Mexico and Plant X and Nichols Generating Station in Texas. The portfolio is in line with Xcel Energy’s broader five-year investment plan announced in October 2024, with goals to modernize and increase the area’s energy infrastructure. An economic impact of $5 billion over five years is projected in New Mexico, and the expansion is expected to meet growing demand in the Panhandle and other high-growth areas. Xcel Energy is seeking approval of these projects from state regulators in the second half of 2025. The company is also planning on issuing another request for proposals from developers for future projects expected to be operational by 2032. Enbridge, a multinational pipeline and energy company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, is set to invest $900 million in a 600-MW Texas solar project, Clear Fork, near San Antonio. Meta Platforms is contracted to purchase 100% of the project’s renewable output to support its data center operations in the state. “We are thrilled to partner with Enbridge to bring new renewable energy to Texas and help support our operations with 100% clean energy,” said Urvi Parekh, head of global energy at Meta, in an Enbridge press release. Clear Fork is expected to begin operations in 2027. “Clear Fork demonstrates the growing demand for renewable power across North America from blue- chip companies who are involved in technology and data center operations,” said Matthew Akman, executive vice president, corporate strategy, & president, power at Enbridge, in a company press release. Enbridge has $2 billion approved in pending energy projects, with strong market results in the second financial quarter of the year. The new suite of projects will support power demands for data centers, industrial expansion and liquefied natural gas (LNG) markets. The company also has a $30 billion project backlog that places it in an advantageous position to capture more market share in these sectors. Houston-based company NRG Energy Inc. was approved to receive up to $216 million in state loans from the Public Utility Commission of Texas through the Texas Energy Fund (TEF) Loan Program to add two new natural gas units to its T.H. Wharton Plant in northwestern Houston. The addition is expected to generate 456 MW of power for the metro area and be online in summer 2026. NRG has two additional projects at its Cedar Bayou and Greens Bayou sites that are proceeding through the due diligence process under the TEF. According to a company press release, the new NRG TEF projects are expected to bring over 1.5 gigawatts (GW) of natural gas-powered generation to the state by 2028. — Kelly Barraza Flying Toward the Future Game-changing technological collaborations don’t take place over Wi-Fi-supported video calls or by email. They’re best developed in dedicated space that evokes innovation. In south-central Texas, Port San Antonio has been in the midst of growth since the late 1990s, becoming a hotspot for aerospace, defense, cybersecurity, logistics and manufacturing technology exploration for budding startups and industry-leading companies such as Boeing, Chromalloy and StandardAero. Over the past seven years, the 1,900-acre Tech Port landed on the radar of the likes of CNF Technologies, IPSecure, Leidos and Northrop Grumman for new operations. This momentum didn’t take place without international notice, landing the Port “Outstanding Innovation District” status from the Association of University Research Parks in 2024. The port’s In addition to the 600-MW Clear Fork solar project near San Antonio, Enbridge is building the 130-MW Orange Grove solar project in Jim Wells County. Photo courtesy of Enbridge172 SEPTEMBER 2025 SITE SELECTION $9 billion annual regional economic impact is on the rise, especially with assets such as the Boeing Center at Tech Port, which just rang in its third year of operations and has drawn over 500,000 visitors to the city. Today, more than 80 tenants and 18,000 employees have secured their place on campus, activity that has led to about 97% of the Port’s 10 million sq. ft. of commercial and industrial space to be occupied. Luckily, there is a bold solution in the works. “The campus is tremendously important because it creates an opportunity for the very deep silos to interact with each other,” says ¬Port San Antonio CEO Jim Perschbach. “When you’re trying to incorporate new technologies, talents and tools into existing legacy platforms, you can’t do that without the ability to have proximity and collaboration.” The success found in the earlier office buildings, and decreasing vacancy, drove Perschbach to explore new site development. He wasn’t interested in delivering fresh office space that didn’t speak to the novelty of talent home to the region. So he brought in Pelli Clarke & Partners’ Bill Butler, who leads design and development of large-scale cultural projects, to begin developing what is now known as the Innovation Tower. A $275 million investment will introduce a 300,000-sq.-ft., 11-story futuristic winged office tower that aims to redefine how government, startup and commercial companies get to work. “You look at any skyline in any city, they always develop things that become the symbol of what they are and what they aspire to be. That’s what the tower is going to accomplish for us.” he says. “With this tower, what we’re trying to say is to the people in the communities that are immediately around us — to the people of San Antonio — is that this is a symbol of the type of work that is being done by your friends, neighbors and family right here in the city.” Butler says Port San Antonio came to him with incredible ambition rooted in the idea of transformation for the campus and the city. Taking notice of the firm’s work in Austin constructing Google’s new HQ that sits alongside Lady Bird Lake and Shoal Creek, Perschbach saw the boundary-breaking aerodynamic design of the swooping sail structure Butler produced and wasted no time connecting. “We initially went into the first interview with a very conservative design which they seemed to like,” Butler says. “After that presentation we did a tour SITE SELECTION SEPTEMBER 2025 173 of the campus, going through all the buildings, which are quite phenomenal. It was in that moment I actually apologized for the design we showed an hour prior, saying ‘there’s no way this building will meet the aspiration, let alone the sense of innovation you desire.’ I said if I had to do it all over, I’d do something completely diff erent.” Two weeks later, Butler presented three new concepts, each structurally daring, image-dynamic and radically diff erent from the fi rst design. e third option stood out to the Port team, which noted the shape channels aspirational fl ight, building upon the campus’ aerospace heritage as it was once home to Kelly Air Force Base. e building’s shape is best compared to that of a pear inside, as offi ce space begins small on bottom BY THE NUMBERS TEXAS Higher Ed. R&D Expenditure in $000s: 7,767,791 Number of NCRCs: 39,394 | Percent Improved 2023–24: 7.54% Business Tax Climate Rank Change 2024–2025: +6 Industrial power cost per kWh: $6.60 Total Rev. as Share of Total Expenses, FY 2008-22: 108.12% 2024 Workers’ Comp Index Rate: 0.88 Selected Top Projects by Capital Investment COMPANY CITY INVESTMENT $M Summit Next Gen Houston 1,600 Oneok / Marathon Petroleum Texas City 1,400 Freyr Battery Milam Cnty. 850 Galaxy Digital Services Afton 800 Microsoft Corp. C astroville 765 Source: Conway Projects DatabaseNext >