Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is financing a Texas project to build a private power campus for artificial intelligence.
The New York banking giant is working with real estate advisory Newmark Group Inc., according to developer Gridfree AI. Newmark has also been tapped as the exclusive marketer and consultant for the data hub, called South Dallas One.
According to Montauk Capital’s chief executive officer Philip Crum, the goal in this initial round is to raise “hundreds of millions of dollars” as the first project is scaled.
Goldman declined to comment.
The American power system, based on Thomas Edison’s 19th-century grid, is struggling to meet the electricity needs of the modern economy. Aging infrastructure is being strained by extreme weather and unprecedented demand growth. Consumers face the double whammy of rising electricity bills and greater risk of blackouts in large parts of the US.
“Edison’s grid wasn’t built for the scale and size of these data centers,” Karam said. “We ended up saying, ‘Let’s start a company for energy experts to build a data center—knowing that energy-dense and energy-efficient data centers—to increase AI buildout.’
Grudfree AI was founded about a year ago with Ralph Alexander as CEO. Alexander, a nuclear engineer, previously served as a top executive at Talon Energy Corp., where he led the development of the independent power producer’s Susquehanna nuclear plant in Pennsylvania as well as a data center campus. Amazon Web Services bought the campus early last year, which was expanded into a 1.92 gigawatt supply deal with Tallinn this year. The co-location agreement has quickly become a key flashpoint in ensuring that tech giants pay their fair share of power plants and grid infrastructure without passing those costs on to other consumers.
“South Dallas One represents the future of e-ready infrastructure: fast to deploy, flexible by design and insulated from industry-stopping grid disruptions,” Alexander said in a statement.
With land reserved for two of the three sites, Grudfrey said initial power could be brought online in less than 24 months from the signing of the lease, which is significantly faster than waiting to connect to the Texas grid. Each site will have approximately 1.5 gigawatts of power, including infrastructure to house data centers. Karim said the plan is to develop 100 megawatt modules—10 gas turbines that provide round-the-clock power and two for backup—so that they can be plugged into projects quickly.
He said the set could be done on 500 acres and would use a household’s worth of water as waste heat from power generation would be captured to help with cooling needs.
Although these AI campuses will be self-sustaining, the goal is to eventually connect to the Texas grid to provide spare power, Karim said. Fuel for the gas plants will be supplied by two pipelines, including those owned by Energy Transfer LP, and will not require backup diesel generators, Karim said. He said that Grudfree AI plans to build campuses around the world and will eventually include Johari.
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