Texas Tech University System, Fermi America announce AI intelligence, energy campus near Amarillo

AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) – The Texas Tech University System announced it will partner with Fermi America to build “one of the most significant power campuses in the U.S. and the largest advanced energy, private grid and intelligence development in the world” near Pantex.

TTU officials said the Advanced Energy and Intelligence Campus will be established at a 5,800-acre site, with 18 million square feet of artificial intelligence data centers. The campus will generate up to 11 gigawatts of IT capacity using natural gas, solar, wind and nuclear energy.

“The Texas Tech University System is proud to partner with Fermi America on this historic endeavor,” said Chancellor Tedd L. Mitchell, M.D. “Texas is the energy capital of the world, and this campus will not only be the largest energy and data complex of its kind, but also a testament to the unshakable spirit of our system, the Texas Panhandle and this great state.”

TTU officials said Fermi America, co-founded by former U.S. Energy Secretary and Texas Governor Rick Perry, is set to partner in the project to provide infrastructure energy solutions amid the U.S.’s participation in “the energy-intensive AI race.”

Perry phrased the project as a way to bring “all hands on deck” to continue the nation’s development in the energy sector, following President Donald Trump’s executive order in May to “designate [AI] data centers, located at or operated in coordination with Department of Energy (DOE) facilities, as critical defense facilities, and the nuclear reactors powering them as defense critical electric infrastructure.”

Fermi America’s announcement of the project described it as “the only site with the potential to include safe, clean, new nuclear power, the nation’s biggest combined-cycle natural gas project, utility grid power, solar power, and battery energy storage at unprecedented scale.”

The Pantex plant in Amarillo is considered a United States Department of Energy Superfund Site, though it does not generate nuclear energy.

The initial announcement from TTU did not specify whether or not the campus is intended to have its own nuclear power generator, nor a prospective timeline for that energy aspect. There were also no details in TTU’s initial announcement of the project regarding expected resource requirements for water or electricity usage.

Another recent project, APR Energy’s development of an 800-acre data center near Pampa, is expected to start with using 2 gigawatts of natural gas and 1.5 million gallons per day of water.

TTU officials noted the project campus will intend to include academic and research opportunities for faculty and students including internships, employment and workforce training, and placement programs set to benefit its institutions.

“This collaboration will not only position Texas Tech to address the evolving demands of the energy and technology sectors but will also create meaningful educational opportunities for our students and research possibilities across many disciplines for our faculty,” said TTU President Lawrence Schovanec.

Fermi America said on its website that it aims to have 1 gigawatt online through the project by the end of 2026.