PowerPlay AI announces 400 MW behind-the-meter AI data center development in West Texas through Neocloud joint venture
AI-madePowerPlay AI announced this week a 400 MW behind-the-meter AI data center development in the greater Abilene area of West Texas, executed through a joint venture with a Nasdaq-listed Neocloud partner. The project is targeting initial power delivery in 2028.
PowerPlay AI announces West Texas AI data center joint venture
Before going public, PowerPlay AI did the homework first—site feasibility studies, infrastructure assessment, and land acquisition. All of it was done before the announcement. That order matters. Rather than dropping a concept and sorting out the details later, the company says the joint venture is already in active execution.
The Nasdaq-listed Neocloud partner brings AI infrastructure expertise, while PowerPlay AI leads on power-first development strategy. Neither company has disclosed financial terms.
The chosen IPP will generate the on-site power that feeds the data center, making it one of the most consequential vendor decisions the joint venture will make.
The 400 MW figure covers the initial phase. The first power delivery is targeted for 2028—roughly a two-year runway from announcement to operation.
Site selection and infrastructure drivers behind the project
West Texas isn’t a random pick. The greater Abilene area already has what large-scale data center development actually needs—and can move fast.
The site has installed natural gas infrastructure and adjacent fiber connectivity, both critical for a behind-the-meter development, where the facility generates its own power on-site rather than drawing from the public grid. Having those inputs already in place cuts the timeline risk that kills many infrastructure projects before they get going.
The location is also unincorporated—outside municipal zoning jurisdictions—which removes a layer of regulatory friction that slows permitting significantly in other markets.
The regional context makes it even clearer. The site sits near multiple gigawatt-scale AI campuses that are already operating, under construction, or recently proposed. That kind of clustering means the area’s infrastructure ecosystem—contractors, suppliers, utilities, and fiber providers—is already calibrated for this type of development. Building inside an established regional ecosystem tends to move faster than breaking ground somewhere entirely new.
Project execution status and next steps
Site work is done. The joint venture is now focused on the next round of execution tasks, according to Power Systems Design‘s press release.
Natural gas service agreements are being actively progressed. These are foundational to the behind-the-meter model — locking in fuel supply is a prerequisite before serious construction planning can begin. Alongside that, the project is running a formal RFP process to select a preferred independent power producer. That process is underway but not yet concluded.
The chosen IPP will generate the on-site power that feeds the data center, making it one of the most consequential vendor decisions the joint venture will make. On the customer side, the project is targeting leading AI infrastructure operators and hyperscalers — tenants whose compute workloads would fill the facility. Early engagement before construction is standard practice at this scale, since hyperscalers typically require long-term capacity commitments.
Industry context: Power constraints on AI infrastructure growth
To understand why a project like this exists, you need to understand the problem it’s solving.
AI compute demand is accelerating faster than the grid can respond. That’s not a fringe take—it’s the central tension shaping data center development right now. Grid interconnection queues in many U.S. markets now stretch into the 2030s. If you need power in 2028, waiting in line for a grid connection often isn’t a viable path.
“Power has become the defining constraint on AI,” said Luke Velterop of PowerPlay AI. “Demand is accelerating faster than the grid can respond, interconnection queues now stretch into the 2030s, and competition for sites that can deliver scalable power at speed has never been greater.”
Federal policy has added pressure from another direction. Policymakers have called on industry to “build, bring, or buy” the energy that AI demand requires—framing energy procurement as an industry responsibility rather than a grid obligation. That language has pushed developers toward behind-the-meter strategies, where the power source is owned or contracted directly rather than pulled from shared infrastructure.
The result is intensifying competition for sites that can deliver scalable power quickly. Behind-the-meter natural gas development has emerged as one of the few realistic options for projects needing hundreds of megawatts before the mid-2030s, bypassing the interconnection queue entirely and putting power delivery on a timeline the developer can actually control.
The joint venture is now in active execution
PowerPlay AI’s West Texas project is a 400 MW behind-the-meter AI data center development in the greater Abilene area, structured as a joint venture with a Nasdaq-listed Neocloud partner. Site feasibility, infrastructure assessment, and land acquisition were all completed before the announcement. The joint venture is now in active execution.
The site’s advantages include existing natural gas and fiber infrastructure, an unincorporated location free of zoning restrictions, and proximity to an established regional AI campus ecosystem. Natural gas service agreements are being progressed, and an RFP process is underway to select an independent power producer.
Initial power delivery is targeted for 2028. The project is positioned as a direct response to grid interconnection timelines now stretching into the 2030s, with hyperscalers and large AI infrastructure operators targeted as anchor tenants.
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