The world’s largest artificial intelligence data center complex is being built in Amarillo, and it’s almost seven times the size of Central Park.
On June 26, 2025, Fermi America, an AI development firm cofounded by former Texas Governor Rick Perry, announced that it will partner with the Texas Tech University System to transform 5,800 acres outside of Amarillo into 18 million square feet of data centers, four 1-gigawatt nuclear power reactors, and a dedicated natural gas plant.
The site is colloquially known as Project Matador, though a building request submitted to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission lists its official name as the President Donald J. Trump Advanced Energy and Intelligence Campus. On July 10, two weeks after Project Matador’s announcement, the White House released the United States’ AI Action Plan, a 28-page strategy document calling for streamlined environmental permitting under federal law. Cornerstone environmental protections are being treated as mere hurdles in the race for AI dominance, and Texas’ water (and power) supply is struggling to keep pace.
