New Era Helium, Sharon AI Sign Binding Letter to Develop Energy Data Center in Permian Basin
The letter increases the planned data center’s capacity from 90 to 250 MW to support heightened electricity demand; New Era Helium will supply gas at a fixed price for five years.
New Era Helium and Sharon AI executed an agreement to develop and operate a 250-MW net-zero energy data center in west Texas’ Permian Basin, increasing the power output from the previously announced 90-MW facility. New Era Helium also entered a gas supply agreement at a fixed cost for five years, with three additional options of five years each. The agreement will be finalized on or before December 23, 2024.
“This partnership with Sharon AI highlights our commitment to energy solutions and represents a step forward, building on the momentum of our trading debut on Nasdaq this past Monday,” said E. Will Gray II, CEO of New Era Helium. “Our public listing reflects New Era Helium’s ability to support today’s high-growth, in-demand industries with environmentally responsible energy solutions. Together with Sharon AI, we believe we are well-positioned to deliver energy infrastructure that meets the evolving demands of the AI-driven digital age.”
The 250-MW power plant may expand over time with the joint venture participants working to identify opportunities, including with offtake partners, which may include hyperscalers and other large energy users.
Project Roles
Sharon AI is the exclusive AI and high-power computing (HPC) provider and will design, construct, and operate the high-density, liquid-cooled, tier III data center. The company will also partner with NVIDIA and Lenovo on the data center, graphics processing unit, network architecture, and design, providing high performance for AI/HPC training and inference workloads.
“We are excited that initial planning and scoping is now complete, marking a crucial step in our project with New Era Helium,” said Wolf Schubert, CEO of Sharon AI. “We look forward to advancing into the engineering phase and engaging in further offtake discussions, which will bring us closer to delivering this net-zero energy data center in the Permian Basin.”
New Era Helium is an exclusive provider and build partner for the center’s energy infrastructure: the gas-fueled power plant design and construction, CO2 carbon capture and connected pipelines.
