Data Center Construction in Texas

Seventy-five megawatts is the line Texas Senate Bill 6 draws for large-load interconnection in ERCOT, and for data center owners it changes the order of the work. Before a single footing is poured, a large load must show site control, pay a study fee of at least $100,000 for initial transmission screening and meet financial commitment requirements. The building, in other words, now follows a power approval rather than leading it, and a contractor who ignores that sequence will be building a shell with no one to energize it.

We build the shell, slab, site and support structures for data center campuses, and we do it as a warehouse and distribution builder: large footprints, repeatable bays, heavy slabs, truck access for equipment delivery and a schedule driven by long-lead gear. We are not an electrical or mechanical design firm, and we do not pretend to be. We coordinate with the owner's engineers and the equipment vendors so the concrete, steel and site work are ready when the generators, switchgear and chillers arrive.

Data center demand is also the most volatile in the state. Projects are announced, resized, relocated and sometimes paused as the grid and the politics shift. This page describes what a Texas data center needs from a builder and how to plan for the swings. If you are weighing a conventional industrial product instead, our pages on manufacturing plants and tilt-wall buildings compare structure and cost.

Hyperscale activity and where it lands

West Texas and the border are drawing the largest announcements. Meta announced in October 2025 a roughly $1.5 billion, 1.2-million-square-foot AI data center in northeast El Paso, on about 1,039 acres along Stan Roberts Sr. Avenue near U.S. Highway 54, with 1,800 construction jobs at peak and 100 operational jobs. In Abilene, the Stargate data center projects are developed by a joint venture of Blue Owl Capital, Crusoe Energy Systems and Primary Digital Infrastructure and leased to Oracle; a secondary source reports more than 6,400 workers at the campus, a figure to confirm with the operators.

The ratio of construction jobs to operating jobs is the clearest sign of the opportunity: a data center is a construction-heavy project with few permanent staff. Our regional pages on El Paso and Abilene describe the local site conditions. For developers who are assembling campuses, our developers and REITs page covers how we work with them.

Large-load rules and local approvals

Senate Bill 6 directs the Public Utility Commission to set interconnection standards for large loads, and it requires that transmission-voltage large loads connected after December 31, 2025 install equipment that lets them be curtailed during firm load shed. That requirement affects the electrical design and sometimes the site layout, since the curtailment equipment and backup generation must be placed and permitted. We build the pads and enclosures for that equipment into the site plan.

Utility Dive reported on August 21, 2026 that ERCOT interconnection requests totaled about 474 gigawatts, roughly 90 percent of them data centers, according to the governor's letter, and that on August 3, 2026 the governor called for a moratorium on new data center interconnections and a community impact review of data centers and crypto facilities of 25 megawatts and above. The state's regulatory stance is still moving, so owners should treat interconnection timing as a risk item. Building-code review runs separately at the city level, where Texas lets each municipality adopt amendments to an International Building Code baseline.

Structure, slab and the equipment path

A data hall is a large, quiet industrial box with heavy floor loads. The slab carries racks, battery rooms and cooling equipment, and the structure often carries rooftop or perimeter mechanical systems. Tilt-up walls are common because they build fast and are easy to make secure, and the thick wall panels give mass and impact resistance that owners often like. We lay out panel joints and entrances early so that security and equipment entry points are part of the structure, not cut afterward.

The equipment path matters as much as the room. Transformers, generators and chillers arrive on heavy haul trucks, and the site needs reinforced pavement, wide turns and staging space. Our site utilities package covers underground duct banks, water and fire lines, and we design the yard to handle crane picks for equipment set. These are warehouse skills applied to a different end user.

Sequencing against long-lead gear

Switchgear, generators and large cooling equipment have lead times that can exceed the entire shell construction schedule. We therefore build the shell to a date set by the equipment, not the other way around. If the owner buys equipment first, we schedule the building to arrive just before delivery, and if equipment is late we protect the slab and interior from weather while the gear catches up.

Phased delivery is common. A campus may deliver one hall at a time while the utility service steps up in stages. We set up the site infrastructure to the final build-out, including duct banks, water mains and perimeter fencing, then deliver halls in sequence so the owner brings capacity online as power becomes available. That approach lowers stranded-capital risk when the interconnection date moves.

Fire, security and energy rules

Data centers use clean-agent or pre-action suppression in the data halls and conventional sprinklers elsewhere, and the fire marshal reviews both. Battery rooms add another design question for smoke and gas detection. Our role is to coordinate penetrations, fire separations and access so the fire protection engineer does not discover conflicts after the walls are up. Our fire protection coordination work applies in the support and storage areas of a campus.

Texas energy code adoption for commercial buildings follows the State Energy Conservation Office, which continues to use the International Energy Conservation Code. Cities may adopt newer editions locally, so we confirm which applies. Physical security is the owner's requirement: we build to the required perimeter, vehicle barriers and controlled entries, and we coordinate with the security integrator.

Start with the power letter

Send the megawatt target, the site and the utility status. We will respond with a shell and site approach and a schedule tied to energization. If the project begins as a smaller edge facility, the flex and light industrial page may be a closer fit.

Common Questions

Do you build the electrical and mechanical systems?

We build the shell, slab, site and structural support, and we coordinate with the owner's electrical and mechanical contractors. The owner usually selects specialized data center trades directly or through a design-build partner. We manage the interfaces so the systems fit.

What does Senate Bill 6 mean for my schedule?

It means the interconnection study and financial commitments come before building. Owners with loads of 75 megawatts or more should plan for the study fee, the site-control showing and the curtailment equipment requirement. We recommend an advisor who handles ERCOT filings, and we plan construction around the energization date.

Is tilt-wall suitable for a data center?

Yes, for many owners. It builds quickly, resists impact and gives a durable envelope. For smaller edge facilities, a pre-engineered metal building may be more economical, and we compare them.

What happens if the interconnection is delayed?

We can pause after the shell and site work, protect the structure and resume interior work when power is firm. Phasing the build in halls limits how much capital sits idle. We discuss these triggers in the contract.

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