Data Center Projects in Taylor County, Texas

Last verified: October 27, 2026 · 2 tracked projects · 13 tracked records

Overview

Texas Data Center Watch tracks two data center projects in Taylor County. Both are in Abilene.

Stargate I / Crusoe Abilene AI Campus. Crusoe built this campus on Lancium's land for Oracle, which runs it for OpenAI. It is partially operational: the first two buildings went live on Sept. 30, 2025 (DCD). Sources differ on when construction will finish. A Crusoe executive said the eight buildings would be built through Q1 2027 (KTXS, Mar. 5, 2026). Crusoe said phase 2 would be complete by the end of 2026 (Crusoe, Mar. 27, 2026). CNR reported the buildings would be complete by the end of 2026, with closeout in early 2027 (CNR Magazine, Aug. 13, 2026).

Crusoe's Abilene AI factory for Microsoft. This adjacent campus was announced on March 27, 2026, and land clearing and site preparation are underway. Crusoe describes a 900 MW site that includes a 900 MW behind-the-meter on-site power plant with battery storage. The two buildings will have 336 MW of critical IT load each (Crusoe). DCD reports Microsoft is leasing 900 MW of capacity (DCD).

County tax abatements. On Feb. 25, 2025, commissioners amended Lancium's abatement to cover 80% of property value for 10 years (KTAB). On Sept. 9, 2025, they unanimously approved Resolution 22-25, covering abatement agreements with Lancium and Abilene DC 1 and 3–8 LLCs. The resolution doesn't state a term (draft minutes).

Tracked projects

Project	Developer	Status	Capacity / size	Investment	Key dates	Sources
Stargate I / Crusoe Abilene AI Campus (Lancium Clean Campus), Abilene	Crusoe (builder); Lancium (land/power); Oracle for OpenAI	Partially operational	~1.2 GW, 8 buildings, ~4M sq ft	$30–33B total construction cost, all phases (per CNR)	Mid-2024 vertical construction began (CNR) · Feb 25 2025 Taylor County amended Lancium abatement, 80% for 10 yrs (per KTAB) · Sep 9 2025 Taylor County Resolution 22-25 approved abatement agreements with Lancium and Abilene DC 1, 3–8 LLCs (term not stated in resolution) · Sep 30 2025 first 2 buildings live (DCD) · Mar 2026 2 GW expansion dropped (DCD). Completion dates differ: 8 buildings through Q1 2027 (Crusoe SVP via KTXS, Mar 5 2026) · phase 2 complete by end-2026 (Crusoe, Mar 27 2026) · buildings complete end-2026, closeout early 2027 (CNR, Aug 13 2026) · TDLR 'Project Plaid' registrations at 615 FM 2404 (owner Data Center 3-8 Hold Co, LLC · Building 3 shell filed by Crusoe Energy Systems): Feb 13 2025 Building 3 shell (484,960 sq ft) and Mar 10 2025 Building 4 shell (479,721 sq ft) · Apr 17 2025 Buildings 5–8 shells (~480,000 sq ft each) · shells est. $292M each · Mar 20–25 2025 Building 3 and 4 TIs and May 14 2025 Building 5–8 TIs (office and data hall build-outs, est. $384M each). Buildings 3–6 shell and TI filings show Inspection Complete · 7–8 Review Complete (TDLR, found Oct 18 2026)	DCD · KTXS · CNR Magazine · Crusoe · Taylor County minutes · TDLR TABS 1 · TDLR TABS 2 · TDLR TABS 3 · TDLR TABS 4 · TDLR TABS 5 · TDLR TABS 6 · TDLR TABS 7 · TDLR TABS 8 · TDLR TABS 9 · TDLR TABS 10 · TDLR TABS 11 · TDLR TABS 12
Crusoe Abilene AI factory for Microsoft (adjacent campus), Abilene	Crusoe; Microsoft (customer)	Under construction	900 MW site incl. 900 MW behind-the-meter on-site power plant + BESS; 2 buildings × 336 MW critical IT (Crusoe; DCD reports Microsoft lease of 900 MW capacity)	Not recorded	Mar 27 2026 announced, land clearing/site prep underway (Crusoe · DCD) · first building expected to energize mid-2027 (Crusoe · DCD)	Crusoe · DCD

Recorded benefits and concerns (Stargate I / Crusoe Abilene AI Campus (Lancium Clean Campus)):

Benefits: Worker counts differ: ~9,000 craft workers on site daily (Crusoe SVP via KTXS, Mar 5 2026); up to 5,000 workers at spring/summer 2026 peak (CNR, Aug 13 2026). KTXS: project "described as" Abilene's largest single investment since Dyess AFB
Concerns: Grid electricity combined with on-site natural gas and battery storage (CNR)

Sources for each project are linked in the table. Figures labeled "company" come from the developer.

Record timeline

Date	Type	What happened	Source
Sep 23, 2026	TCEQ permit	Public Citizen: TCEQ issued stormwater coverage Sep 23 to DPR PCL JV for 'Abilene Data Center Buildings 9 & 10', 5502 Spinks Rd, Abilene.	Public Citizen
Aug 13, 2026	News	CNR: DPR building current Abilene phase; buildings complete end-2026, closeout early 2027; up to 5,000 workers at peak.	CNR Magazine
Aug 5, 2026	TCEQ permit	TCEQ notice of preliminary decision (Aug 5) for Crusoe's 182126 power plant at 615 FM 2404, Abilene; comments due 30 days after newspaper notice.	TCEQ
Mar 27, 2026	Company announcement	Crusoe announces 900 MW AI factory campus in Abilene for Microsoft.	Crusoe
Mar 6, 2026	News	DCD: Oracle/OpenAI drop plans to expand the Abilene Stargate site to 2 GW.	DCD
Mar 5, 2026	News	KTXS: Crusoe SVP briefs Abilene leaders; ~9,000 craft workers on site daily; 8 buildings through Q1 2027.	KTXS
Dec 17, 2025	Building registration (TDLR)	TDLR TABS: 'Abilene Building 9' and 'Building 10', 738,382 sq ft, est. $6.3B each as filed, 617 FM 2404; not tied to a tracked campus by any opened source.	TDLR TABS
Nov 7, 2025	TCEQ permit	TCEQ received Crusoe's application (182126) for additional on-site power generation at its 'Longhorn Data Center' in Abilene; notice doesn't name the campus.	TCEQ
Sep 9, 2025	Tax abatement	Commissioners Court unanimously approves Resolution 22-25: abatement agreements with Lancium and Abilene DC 1, 3–8 LLCs (draft minutes; term not stated).	Taylor County minutes
May 14, 2025	Building registration (TDLR)	TDLR TABS: 'Project Plaid' Crusoe Building 5–8 tenant improvements, office and data hall build-outs, est. $384M each.	TDLR TABS
Apr 17, 2025	Building registration (TDLR)	TDLR TABS: 'Project Plaid' Crusoe Buildings 5–8, ~480,000 sq ft data halls, est. $292M each; owner Data Center 3-8 Hold Co, LLC.	TDLR TABS
Feb 25, 2025	Tax abatement	KTAB: Taylor County commissioners amend Lancium abatement; 80% of property value abated for 10 years.	KTAB (via Yahoo)
Feb 13, 2025	Building registration (TDLR)	TDLR TABS: 'Project Plaid' Crusoe Building 3, 484,960 sq ft single-story data center, est. $292M, 615 FM 2404; now Inspection Complete.	TDLR TABS

What's next

These dates come from the tracker. Texas Data Center Watch has no recorded upcoming Taylor County hearings or votes on data centers.

Late 2026 to Q1 2027: Completion of the eight Stargate I buildings. Sources differ: Q1 2027 (KTXS); end of 2026 (Crusoe); end of 2026 with closeout in early 2027 (CNR Magazine).
Mid-2027: The first building at Crusoe's Microsoft campus is expected to energize (Crusoe).
Statewide permit pause: Under the Governor's Sept. 21 order halting permits sought by data centers (Governor's office), TCEQ sent its Oct. 19 compliance letter: it says permits for infrastructure directly supporting data centers are paused, pending applications are being screened, and claimed authorizations are suspended where possible (TCEQ letter). The Texas Tribune reported Oct. 20 that TCEQ says stormwater permits flagged by Public Citizen were suspended (Texas Tribune). On Oct. 21 TCEQ posted that its STEERS e-filing system for automatic authorizations is temporarily shut down so staff can check whether applications relate to data centers (TCEQ STEERS notice); the Texas Tribune reports a spokesman said applications must be physically provided (Texas Tribune, Oct. 21). The tracker doesn't show whether any project in Taylor County has a pending TCEQ permit.

Frequently asked questions

What data center projects are tracked in Taylor County, Texas? Two: Stargate I / Crusoe Abilene AI Campus (Lancium Clean Campus) in Abilene, listed as partially operational; Crusoe Abilene AI factory for Microsoft (adjacent campus) in Abilene, listed as under construction.

Is the Stargate data center in Abilene operating? Partly. Its first two buildings went live on Sept. 30, 2025 (DCD). Sources differ on when the eight buildings will be finished, ranging from the end of 2026 to Q1 2027 (KTXS; Crusoe; CNR Magazine).

Is the Abilene Stargate site still expanding to 2 GW? No. In March 2026, DCD reported that Oracle and OpenAI dropped plans to expand the site to 2 GW (DCD). Crusoe's separate Microsoft campus next door was announced later that month (Crusoe).

How big is Crusoe's Microsoft campus? Crusoe describes a 900 MW site, including a 900 MW on-site power plant, with two buildings of 336 MW of critical IT load each (Crusoe). The 900 MW figure is site and power plant capacity, not computing load.

Did Taylor County give the project a tax break? Yes. On Feb. 25, 2025, commissioners amended Lancium's abatement to 80% of property value for 10 years (KTAB). On Sept. 9, 2025, they unanimously approved Resolution 22-25, covering abatement agreements with Lancium and Abilene DC 1 and 3–8 LLCs; the resolution doesn't state a term (draft minutes).

How many people work on the Stargate construction site? Reports differ. A Crusoe executive said about 9,000 craft workers were on site daily (KTXS, Mar. 5, 2026). CNR reported up to 5,000 workers at the spring/summer 2026 peak (CNR Magazine, Aug. 13, 2026).

Who is building the Abilene data centers? Crusoe built the Stargate I campus on Lancium's land, and Oracle runs it for OpenAI. Crusoe is also developing the adjacent campus, with Microsoft as the customer.

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