Nexus proposes 600MW gas-powered data center campus near Hubbard, Texas

In short: Nexus Data Centers says it plans a 600MW data center campus near Hubbard, Texas, powered mainly by on-site natural gas turbines to avoid long waits for grid hookups.

What happened

Nexus Data Centers is proposing a large data center campus on a roughly 2,000-acre site outside Hubbard, Texas, at 880 State Hwy 171. The project is designed for up to 600 megawatts of power, which is a very large amount, enough to run a major industrial site.

Instead of relying on the local electric grid for most of its power, Nexus plans to generate electricity on-site using natural gas turbines. This is described as “behind-the-meter” generation, which means the power plant sits on the customer side of the utility meter, like having your own power station in the backyard (but on an industrial scale). The campus would still be connected to the grid, but it would not depend on it as its main source.

The power station for the project, called the Nexus Hubbard power plant, is listed as pre-construction in Hill County, with coordinates at 31.828684, -96.7784494. One planned building, called Nexus Data Center 12, is described as 175MW and about 48,000 square feet.

Nexus also says the campus would include fully redundant fiber networks (multiple internet lines, like having backup roads in case one is blocked). It also plans water systems that use reclaimed or non-drinking water, plus technology from AirJoule that aims to capture waste heat and pull water from the air.

Why it matters

Big data centers are being built to run AI systems, but many projects face delays because it can take years to get enough grid power. On-site generation could speed construction, but the plan still leaves open key questions like financing, timelines, and who the customers will be.

Source: Financial Times