Fermi America has signed two significant agreements to obtain the equipment required in the race to make the U.S. energy and AI dominating. The company recently stated its ambition to deliver 11 GW of artificial intelligence capacity in the upcoming decade and one GW of online electricity by the end of 2026.
The Amarillo HyperGrid is moving forward with its goal of being the largest advanced energy and AI campus in the world.
“We realized months ago that the number one challenge to delivering on President Trump’s executive orders for energy dominance in the AI race with China was the supply chain,” stated Fermi America co-founder, Toby Neugebauer. “In order to position America’s hyperscalers with the new energy they require for AI, our team prioritized purchasing equipment for over 600 megawatts of the one gigawatt of generation to be offered by the end of 2026. Today’s announcement shows that Fermi America is doing what it takes to deliver at an unprecedented scale.”
“The executed agreements will allow Fermi America to acquire highly reliable, energy-efficient, and environmentally advanced power generation systems to support the artificial intelligence campus,” attached Fermi America Chief Power Procurement Officer, Larry Kellerman. “The initial fleet represents ISO rated capability of over 600 MW of power generation equipment that is available for shipment and refurbishment, avoiding multi-year Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) lead times.”
A set of brand-new, “in crate,” top-tier Siemens Frame industrial gas turbines operating in extremely efficient combined cycle mode are the subject of the first purchase. The equipment, which will be acquired from Firebird LNG in collaboration with Siemens Energy, includes one SST600 steam turbine, six heat recovery steam generators, and six SGT800 gas turbines. The package includes six gas turbine exhaust venting systems, which provide dependable, simple-cycle operation in the case of steam turbine outages or maintenance. Its ISO-rated capacity of 478 MW is projected to be 400+ MW at site elevation.
Kellerman continued, “This configuration allows for optimal, multi-shaft reliability for Fermi America’s hyperscaler end-use customers, with significantly lower output of all criteria emissions relative to either the marginal emissions rates of grid-supplied power across the vast majority of the U.S. or much higher heat rates and smaller-scale generation assets deployed at many competing intelligence sites.”
With a full load HHV heat rate in the low 7000 BTU per kWh range, this Fermi America asset’s per unit CO2 greenhouse gas emissions will be more than 30% below either marginal grid power supply emissions or a typical competing campus’s on-site generation. Planned use of selective catalytic reduction (SCR) and CO catalysts will reduce total emissions of other criteria pollutants to a small fraction of these alternatives. Additionally, Fermi plans on using Siemens Energy to support many aspects of the project’s build-out, operations, and long-term maintenance, providing hyperscaler customers with the assurance of reliable, cost-effective, and efficient operations.
The second acquisition, which Fermi closed in June, was for a set of three secondary market GE Frame class industrial gas turbines and a paired steam turbine. This equipment, formerly in operation at a heavy industrial operation in New Jersey, consists of three GE Frame 6B gas turbines and one GE steam turbine. Fermi America will oversee the refurbishment and life extension of these units by a GE-certified maintenance and repair organization prior to installation in Amarillo. Initially, Fermi plans to deploy the three refurbished gas turbines, totaling 135 MW at ISO conditions, in simple cycle mode, with the installation of new heat recovery steam generators shortly afterward. This will enable Fermi to operate the assets in combined cycle mode to allow for over 200 MW, under ISO conditions, and about 180 MW at site elevation, of combined cycle use and an efficient full load HHV heat rate in the low 8000 BTU per kWh range.
“Behind-the-meter power isn’t just a Fermi advantage—it’s the only solution for America’s AI dominance,” concluded Neugebauer. “Without it, we’re handing China the keys to AI. There will only be one winner.”
As the United States approaches the 4th of July, the new campus stands as a bold declaration of American innovation and AI leadership.
