New Era Energy & Digital Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAI) is developing large-scale data center infrastructure across energy-rich U.S. markets to support AI training and inference workloads. The company is pursuing a power-first development model designed to address the growing need for compute capacity in markets where access to electricity can constrain data center deployment.
New Era combines large-acreage development sites with behind-the-meter and grid-connected power solutions, modular construction and advanced cooling technologies. Its development model is designed to accelerate time-to-power while allowing hyperscale, enterprise and edge customers to deploy capacity in phases as their requirements grow.
New Era is headquartered in Midland, Texas.
Texas Critical Data Centers
Texas Critical Data Centers (“TCDC”) is New Era’s flagship development, encompassing 493 acres in Odessa, Ector County, within the Permian Basin energy corridor. The campus is planned for phased expansion toward 1.4 gigawatts of capacity and has access to existing energy, water and fiber infrastructure. New Era’s power strategy combines behind-the-meter generation with grid resources to reduce reliance on constrained grid interconnection timelines.
As of August 2026, New Era had secured construction permits for TCDC and received approval of a Notice of Intent with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to commence grading. The company was also in advanced negotiations for a Phase 1 power purchase agreement that would place the contractual power position directly in New Era’s name. Phase 1 is planned for 207 MW, while a standard air permit filed by a subsidiary of Phase 2 power partner Thunderhead Energy Solutions would support approximately 550 MW, bringing combined planned capacity for the first two phases to approximately 757 MW.
TCDC is being advanced alongside infrastructure and development partners across power, engineering, financing and data center operations. New Era is engaged in ongoing end-tenant negotiations and joint venture discussions with Stream Data Centers, while its broader development strategy emphasizes closed-loop liquid cooling, reclaimed water and dedicated energy infrastructure intended to limit pressure on local grid and water resources.
Modular Data Center and Power Solutions
New Era offers infrastructure solutions ranging from powered land and pad-ready sites to powered shells and managed data center environments. Its power-first model incorporates behind-the-meter natural gas generation, microgrids, grid interconnections and energy storage, allowing customers to select infrastructure based on workload, timeline and operating requirements.
The company’s modular construction model uses factory-built data halls designed for phased deployment, with approximately 80% of construction completed in controlled factory environments and a targeted initial deployment timeline of less than 15 months. Its infrastructure is designed to support high-density AI workloads through direct-to-chip liquid and immersion cooling, 100 kW-plus rack densities, tiered redundancy and carrier-grade connectivity.
Development Pipeline
Beyond TCDC, New Era has identified a development pipeline exceeding 8 GW across energy-rich U.S. markets. The company’s next planned development is in Lea County, New Mexico, where it has identified approximately 3,500 acres with more than 7 GW of planned capacity. The site is envisioned as a phased hyperscale campus incorporating natural gas and other energy resources.
New Era evaluates potential sites based on energy availability, fiber connectivity, access to workforce and logistics, regulatory conditions, community alignment and sufficient acreage for long-term expansion. The company is actively evaluating additional locations across North America as it seeks to expand its data center development platform.
Market Opportunity
Demand for AI computing infrastructure is increasing requirements for both data center capacity and reliable power generation. New Era cites annual AI compute growth of 23%, while traditional data center development can require three to five years from site selection through commissioning. The company’s modular and power-first model is designed to address this gap by reducing dependence on lengthy grid interconnection and conventional construction timelines.
Power availability has become a central consideration for large-scale data center development. New Era is targeting energy-rich regions where behind-the-meter generation can be integrated with grid resources, allowing additional capacity to be deployed while reducing reliance on constrained public-grid infrastructure. Its development pipeline exceeds 8 GW, led by the planned 1.4 GW TCDC campus and more than 7 GW of planned capacity in Lea County, New Mexico.
Leadership Team
Charlie Nelson, Chairman and CEO, helped lead New Era’s transition into the data center industry and has experience developing, building and operating infrastructure across energy, fuels and chemicals, biotechnology and power. He previously served as New Era’s President and COO before being appointed Chairman and CEO in July 2026. Mr. Nelson studied chemical engineering at Iowa State University.
Ted Warner, President and CFO, has approximately 20 years of finance experience across energy, power and digital infrastructure, spanning capital markets, investment banking and executive leadership. Prior to joining New Era, he served at Northland Capital Markets, where he led billions of dollars in traditional and bespoke financings for high-performance computing infrastructure projects. He was appointed President and to New Era’s Board of Directors in July 2026 while continuing to serve as CFO.
José Rodriguez, COO, has extensive experience across hyperscale data center engineering, critical environment operations, infrastructure delivery and large-scale energy project execution. He previously held data center and infrastructure roles at Microsoft, TikTok and Amazon Web Services. Earlier in his career, he led project and engineering teams across gas turbine and nuclear power infrastructure at GE, Entergy and the Tennessee Valley Authority.