Texas Critical Data Centers (TCDC), the joint venture (JV) between New Era Helium and Sharon AI, has signed a nonbinding agreement with an undisclosed “global provider of High Performance Cloud for AI and Modern Workloads,” according to a July 1 news release.
The prospective customer is scaling its global artificial intelligence (AI) operations and has identified TCDC’s Ector County, Texas, location as a potential site as it grows operations.
“This agreement marks a pivotal step in aligning our energy platform with the surging demand for AI infrastructure,” New Era Helium CEO E. Will Gray II said in a news release. “By combining our strategically located assets in the Permian Basin with a next-gen AI partner, we’re unlocking a powerful opportunity to participate in the digital buildout of tomorrow’s economy right at the intersection of energy and innovation.”
As part of terms outlined in the letter of intent, TCDC said it contemplates acquiring land and a 250-megawatt power purchase agreement for behind-the-meter electricity to support advanced data center operations and next-generation compute infrastructure. The JV’s planned facility is being designed to meet Big Tech’s growing electricity demands.
“Work is progressing on final site due diligence on its [initial] 235 acres, which is set to close on or before July 10, 2025,” New Era Helium said in the release. “The next project milestones are expected to include updates on natural gas supply and advancing grid interconnection planning.”