Tuesday, February 10, 2026

Behind the Fence: Texas Gigawatts Stack Up Faster Than Rules Can Follow

CyrusOne and Constellation Energy's 760-MW data center campus in Freestone County, built behind the meter at a Calpine gas plant, is the latest and loudest entry in a behind-the-fence buildout now measured in dozens of gigawatts across Texas. From Fermi America's 11-GW Amarillo campus to Crusoe's 1.2-GW Stargate facility in Abilene, operators are betting that building power at the load beats waiting for the grid. But the PUC's active large-load proceeding could reshape the economics of every one of these deals, even as a 230-group national coalition organizes to block new construction outright and the largest Panhandle projects sit atop a depleting Ogallala Aquifer with no disclosed water plans. The regulatory reckoning isn't hypothetical: it's running against a clock set by deals already signed.

Today's Lead

CyrusOne and Constellation Energy have struck a 380-MW power deal to build a massive data center campus adjacent to Calpine's Freestone Energy Center in Freestone County, Texas, the latest and one of the largest behind-the-meter gas-plant pairings in ERCOT. The deal, reported at up to 760MW of total campus capacity, pairs the nation's biggest power producer (which acquired Calpine) with a top-tier datacenter operator to sidestep grid interconnection bottlenecks. It lands as ERCOT and the PUC are actively scrutinizing BTM arrangements over concerns that removing dispatchable gas capacity from the grid stack tightens reserve margins and shifts costs to ratepayers, making this deal a likely regulatory flashpoint.

[1]·[2]·[3]

Power

Texas Is the BTM Battleground. The CyrusOne-Constellation deal is the loudest signal in a growing chorus. Clearway Energy Group is building gigawatt-scale BTM campuses for hyperscalers like Google and Microsoft, with SVP Valerie Wooley calling them a "bridge" while interconnection queues clear. Fermi America just took delivery of its first Siemens Energy gas turbines for an eye-popping 11GW campus in Amarillo. Intersect Power filed to develop a datacenter near Pampa, likely co-located with its existing Panhandle renewables. And in Abilene, Crusoe Energy's 1.2-GW Stargate Phase 1 is already online.

Every one of these projects bets that building power at the load is faster than waiting for the grid, and every one raises the same question for ERCOT and the PUC: what happens to system reliability when gigawatts of generation disappear behind the fence? The regulatory risk is acute: the PUC's ongoing large-load proceedings could impose new rules that retroactively reshape deal economics across all of them simultaneously.

[4]·[5]·[6]

Power

The Equipment Land Grab. Turbine and transformer scarcity is now a strategic variable, not just a procurement headache. Xcel Energy reserved five GE Vernova F-class gas turbines and multi-GW wind capacity slots, while signing an MOU with NextEra to co-develop generation for large loads including datacenters. Fermi America's turbine delivery from Siemens Energy confirms manufacturers are prioritizing datacenter-linked gas generation. NextEra CEO John Ketchum's "bring your own generation" framing, where customers finance dedicated capacity to shield ratepayers, is becoming the industry's political playbook alongside its commercial one.

[7]·[5]

Politics

Community and Political Pushback Is Organizing Nationally. Food & Water Watch is coordinating 230+ groups calling for a national moratorium on new datacenter construction, an escalation from local skirmishes to coordinated federal-level opposition. Simultaneously, Round Rock officials are weighing "neighborhood compatibility" for a Skybox datacenter, Fort Worth approved the first step on a $2.1 billion project, El Paso's gas-plant-for-datacenter plan is drawing opposition, and Genesee County, Michigan is voting on a one-year moratorium.

The political cost of siting is rising everywhere, but especially in Texas where water stress and ratepayer politics give opponents concrete ammunition. The 230+-group coalition represents infrastructure for sustained campaigns at federal, state, and local levels. Expect intervention in PUC proceedings, ERCOT planning, and municipal permitting across Texas.

[8]·[9]·[10]·[11]

Water

Quiet But Lurking. No standalone water story today, but the pillar surfaces in nearly every Texas deal. Fermi America's 11GW Amarillo campus and Intersect Power's Pampa filing both sit atop the declining Ogallala Aquifer. The CyrusOne-Constellation campus in semi-rural Freestone County will need massive cooling volumes. El Paso is one of the most water-stressed cities in the U.S. The moratorium coalition led by Food & Water Watch explicitly targets water-intensive industries.

No new water data today, but the constraint is embedded in every major project announced. The risk is a permitting time bomb: Fermi in Amarillo and Intersect near Pampa both sit over a depleting aquifer with no disclosed water sourcing plans.

[12]·[5]·[8]

Sources we cited

12 articles across 10 publishers · 203 reviewed today

[1]POWER Magazine
Constellation, CyrusOne Announce Deal for Texas Data Center
Feb 9, 2026·Energy provide Constellation said that Calpine LLC, a business unit of Constellation, has signed a new 380-MW agreement with Dallas, Texas-b…
[2]Data Center Dynamics
CyrusOne partners with Constellation for 760MW data center campus in Texas
Feb 9, 2026·New development to be located next to Calpine’s Freestone Energy Center
[3]Pipeline and Gas Journal
Constellation, CyrusOne Sign 380-MW Power Deal for Texas Data Center
Feb 9, 2026·Constellation, CyrusOne Sign 380-MW Power Deal for Texas Data Center Pipeline and Gas Journal
[4]Latitude Media
Clearway Energy’s next act: Meet the demands of data centers
Feb 9, 2026·The utility-scale renewables company plans to build gigawatt-scale power campuses. The post Clearway Energy’s next act: Meet the demands of …
[5]Data Center Dynamics (Fermi)
Fermi America receives first natural gas turbines for up to 11GW data center campus in Amarillo, Texas
Feb 10, 2026·Part of a deal signed with Siemens Energy last September
[6]Data Center Dynamics (Intersect)
Intersect Power files to develop data center in Texas
Feb 9, 2026·Company looks to build site near Pampa renewable assets
[7]Power Engineering
Xcel Energy partnerships with NextEra, GE Vernova highlight race to add generation for large loads
Feb 9, 2026·Xcel reserves F-class gas turbines from GE Vernova while partnering with NextEra to develop generation and infrastructure for large-load gro…
[8]Food & Water Watch
230+ Groups Call for National Moratorium on New Data Centers
Dec 8, 2025·Letter to Congress Cites Massive Energy and Water Consumption, Ratepayer Turmoil Letter to Congress Cites Massive Energy and Water Consumpt…
[9]Community Impact
Round Rock officials weigh neighborhood compatibility for Skybox data center
Feb 9, 2026·By Brooke Sjoberg | 2:30 PM Feb 9, 2026 CST Updated 2:32 PM Feb 1…
[10]Fort Worth Star-Telegram
City OKs first step in $2.1 billion data center in far north Fort Worth - Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Feb 9, 2026·City OKs first step in $2.1 billion data center in far north Fort Worth Fort Worth Star-Telegram
[11]The Texas Tribune
El Paso’s plan to build natural gas power plant for massive data center kicks up opposition
Jan 26, 2026·This story is published in partnership with Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, independent news organization that covers climate, energy and …
[12]Shepherd Express
The Hidden Cost of AI: How Data Centers Are Straining Water, Power, and Communities
Feb 9, 2026·Scientists and researchers argue that AI companies also fail to fully disclose how much energy their current models use or the projected dem…

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