The site
The site from above
Quarter by quarter
Watch the site change
One clear satellite frame per quarter, July 2025 to October 2026. Drag the slider or press play.
Sentinel-2 satellite, 10 m resolution (coarser than the photos above).
Power
Power and the grid
None energized or contracted yet · 709 MW permitted
VoltaGrid on-site gas engines (permitted)Permitted, building
operating capacity in the state permit; 802 MW nameplate, 210 Jenbacher engines, prime power State agency · July 2025
Permitted
Not used, not on record, or dropped
- Utility grid Not used by designdesigned off-grid; no ERCOT large-load request identified; a 345 kV switchyard is on the site plan State agency · July 2025
Getting on the grid
Who supplies what, what it costs, and what is still not public.
- Feb. 11, 2025Vantage and VoltaGrid partnerThey agree to deploy more than 1 GW of on-site power across Vantage's North American sites; the deal is not specific to this campus. Company · Feb. 2025
- July 17, 2025State authorizes the gas plantTexas approves VoltaGrid's registration for 210 engines, with a cap of 197 running at once. State agency · July 2025
- Oct. 15, 2025Oracle lines up gas supplyOracle and VoltaGrid announce 2,300 MW of modular gas generation with firm fuel from Energy Transfer; sites are not named (portfolio level). News report · Oct. 2025
- Not setPower for the other half: not foundNo Texas record covers generation beyond the first 709 MW. see Permits
- Texas officials ordered an audit of large grid requests in Aug. 2026 and new interconnections are effectively paused; the campus is built to avoid that queue, and the order does not name it. News report · Aug. 2026
- The air permit is a minor-source standard permit, with annual caps of 143 tons of nitrogen oxides and 229 tons of carbon monoxide, and it expires July 17, 2035. State agency · July 2025
On-site generation on file
- Generating units on the permit: 160 units State agency · July 2025
- Generating units on the permit: 50 units State agency · July 2025
- Generator maker and model: Jenbacher J620; Jenbacher J624 State agency · July 2025
- Permitted operating hours: 8,760 hr/yr State agency · July 2025
Is it running?
Evidence from space
NO2 over the site, net of the rural background, was somewhat higher in July–September 2026 (3 µmol/m²) than a year earlier (2), but the change is within normal swings at this level; the rural background stayed flat (18 and 17). The satellite sees no new combustion large enough to stand out here.
NO2 over the campus and over open country (µmol/m²)
What else could explain it
- Rural Shackelford County: oil and gas wells and compressor stations emit some NO2. Abilene lies just outside the box to the south-west.
- Weather moves NO2 from day to day (wind, sunlight, cloud), and it builds up in winter. Subtracting the background box and comparing the same season a year apart removes most of that.
How this works: the Sentinel-5P satellite measures NO2 in the air over every point on Earth once a day, around 1:30 p.m. local time, in pixels about 5.5 by 3.5 km. NO2 comes from burning fuel (turbines, engines, traffic, power plants), so a rise over a site that open country does not share points to new combustion there. It shows combustion activity, not megawatts. The site box is about 15 km across; the background box is open country about 62 km away. We use only high-quality readings and drop days or weeks when cloud hides more than half of either box. Data: Copernicus Sentinel-5P (ESA), processed with the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem Sentinel Hub statistics service.
Permits
Permits checklist
2 granted · 3 checked, nothing on file
- ✓Air quality standard permit, 210 gas engines GrantedTexas Commission on Environmental Quality · July 17, 2025: to VoltaGrid; 709 MW operating; expires July 17, 2035 State agency · July 2025
- ✓Property tax abatement (Reinvestment Zone 2025-1) GrantedShackelford County: per incentive trackers: $10M a year for 10 years; the executed agreement and county minutes were not found News report · Oct. 2026
- –Checked, nothing on file: Air permit for a second power phase, Grid interconnection request, State sales tax exemption
Risks
What could slow it down
- HighPower covers about half the campusThe state permit allows 709 MW; the stated campus is 1,400 MW, and no second permit or grid request is on record. State agency · Oct. 2026
- MediumSchedule at riskVantage still targets the second half of 2026 for the first building, but satellite imagery shows no roofs through Oct. 2026. News report · Oct. 2026
- MediumNo campus lease on recordThe Oracle and OpenAI deal is at program level; no campus-level lease is public, and Oracle is only expected to lease part of it (press). Company · Sept. 2025
- WatchSame permit approach drawing lawsuits elsewhereEnvironmental groups sued Vantage and VoltaGrid in Sept. 2026 over minor-source permits at San Antonio campuses; Frontier is not named, and no opposition here is on record. News report · Sept. 2026
- WatchTexas data center auditA state review of about 300 large projects is due Dec. 10, 2026; it does not name this campus. News report · Aug. 2026
Money
Money on record
$23.25B
Texas construction loan inside a $38B package (press)
JPMorgan and MUFG lead; four-year term with two one-year extensions News report · Oct. 2026
$10M a year
county payment in lieu of property tax, 10 years (incentive trackers)
250 jobs, 10 scholarships a year, $150,000 a year to the community; clawback terms not public News report · Oct. 2026
$110.2M
land bought by Texas Pacific Land in Shackelford and Jones counties, Q2 2026
tied to data center and power plans; the filing names no tenant or campus SEC filing · Aug. 2026
Timeline
What happened, and what is due
SitePaper trailConstructionPowerPermitsMoneyLegalUpcoming
- Feb. 11, 2025Power Vantage and VoltaGrid announce a partnership for more than 1 GW of on-site power across Vantage's sites. Company · Feb. 2025
- July 14, 2025Permits VoltaGrid files its Texas air permit registration for 210 gas engines at the site. State agency · July 2025
- July 17, 2025Permits Texas authorizes the gas plant, capped at 197 engines running at once. State agency · July 2025
- Aug. 19, 2025Site Vantage unveils Frontier as a $25B, 1,400 MW campus on 1,200 acres, with first delivery targeted for the second half of 2026. Company · Aug. 2025
- Sept. 23, 2025Site OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank name Shackelford County among five new Stargate sites. Company · Sept. 2025
- Oct. 15, 2025Power Oracle and VoltaGrid announce 2,300 MW of modular gas generation, with Energy Transfer supplying fuel; sites not named. News report · Oct. 2025
- Aug. 5, 2026Money Texas Pacific Land reports $110.2M of land purchases in Shackelford and Jones counties tied to its own data center plans; the filing names no campus. SEC filing · Aug. 2026
- Oct. 15, 2026Construction Vantage holds a groundbreaking ceremony; the site was already being graded, and its Aug. 2025 release had said construction began. News report · Oct. 2026
- Dec. 2026Construction End of Vantage's second-half 2026 target for the first building (press). News report · Oct. 2026
- End of 2026Permits First annual operating-status report on the gas engines is due to Texas regulators. State agency · July 2025
Construction activity
Satellite captures by quarter
Since March 2022: 75 satellite captures. The chart starts in the first quarter of 2023; 4 earlier records are not drawn.
Satellite
’23
’24
’25
’26
Dot size: records in the quarter, largest = 6. Two-digit years mark each first quarter.
The buildings
Specs
10 buildings, 3.7M sq ft
Vantage's plan; the power plot plan shows buildings of 132 MW each
210 gas engines
160 Jenbacher J620 and 50 J624, burning natural gas around the clock
5,000 jobs
Vantage's workforce estimate; the county deal promises 250 permanent jobs
- Liquid cooling: closed-loop chillers; Vantage says water use is minimal (no metered figure) Company · Aug. 2025
Who is involved
Owners, partners and builders
Developer and owners
- Vantage Data Centers: developer and operator
- DigitalBridge and Silver Lake: Vantage's backers
Tenant and end user
- Oracle: anchor tenant (no campus lease public)
- OpenAI: end user through the Stargate program
Power
- VoltaGrid: owns and operates the on-site gas plant, leases the plant parcel
- INNIO Jenbacher: engine maker
- Energy Transfer: gas supplier (portfolio level)
Lenders and land
- JPMorgan Chase and MUFG: lead arrangers of the loan (press)
- Texas Pacific Land: large local landowner
Government
- Texas Commission on Environmental Quality: air permit
- Shackelford County: tax abatement counterparty
Still unknown
Open questions
- Any permit or plan for power beyond the first 709 MW.
- A campus-level lease or MW commitment from Oracle.
- The executed county abatement agreement.
- When the first building will get permanent power.
Where this comes from
338 records from 29 documents
Drawn from news reports, state agency records, company statements, public and commercial datasets, securities filings, satellite captures, court filings and local government records, each kept with its date and source. The bar shows documents by type.
News report 12State agency 4Company 4Dataset 4SEC filing 3Satellite 2Court filing 2Local government 1
Evidence
Every quote behind this page
Grade key: A = the primary record itself (permit, filing, exhibit) · B = a dated official statement · C = news reporting. Map distances are our own measurements on OpenStreetMap and carry no grade. Allegations in lawsuits are marked as such in the quotes.
Power (34)
- Tpl land acquisition: Texas Pacific Land Corp (NYSE: TPL) disclosed in its Q2 2026 earnings release (Ex-99.1 to its Aug. 5, 2026 Form 8-K) $110.2 million of aggregate land acquisitions in Shackelford and Jones Counties, Te“$110.2 million of aggregate land acquisitions in Shackelford and Jones Counties, Texas, in connection with our data center and power generation initiatives”SEC filing · Aug. 2026 · grade A
- Aliases: Frontier campus; Vantage Shackelford County; VoltaGrid ABI-1 (on-site power plant name)“Voltagrid LLC Abi-1 Electric Generating Unit Abilene, Shackelford County; Regulated Entity Number RN112247101”State agency · July 2025 · grade A
- On-site generation: 802 MW“GEN-1 – GEN-160 / EGUs (J620); GEN-161 – GEN-210 / EGUs (J624); Maximum operating schedule 8,760 hours/year”State agency · July 2025 · grade A
- On-site power technology: Reciprocating natural gas engines (INNIO Jenbacher) in a VoltaGrid microgrid; prime power“this registration is for emissions associated with two hundred and ten (210) natural gas generators (EPNs GEN-1 – GEN-210)”State agency · July 2025 · grade A
- Generator maker and model: INNIO Jenbacher J620 (160 units, GEN-1 to GEN-160) and J624 (50 units, GEN-161 to GEN-210)“GEN-1 – GEN-160 / EGUs (J620); GEN-161 – GEN-210 / EGUs (J624)”State agency · July 2025 · grade A
- Generating units on the permit: 210 engines“two hundred and ten (210) natural gas generators (EPNs GEN-1 – GEN-210)”State agency · July 2025 · grade A
- Role of the on-site plant: Prime (microgrid self-supply; 8,760 hr/yr maximum operating schedule)“MAXIMUM OPERATING SCHEDULE: Hours/Year 8,760”State agency · July 2025 · grade A
- Generating units on the permit: 160 units“GEN-1 – GEN-160 / EGUs (J620)”State agency · July 2025 · grade A
- Generating units on the permit: 50 units“GEN-161 – GEN-210 / EGUs (J624)”State agency · July 2025 · grade A
- Generator maker and model: Jenbacher J620; Jenbacher J624“this registration is for emissions associated with two hundred and ten (210) natural gas generators (EPNs GEN-1 – GEN-210)”State agency · July 2025 · grade A
- Address: South of the intersection of TX-351 and FM-604, Shackelford County, TX (near Abilene)“This project will occur at the VoltaGrid ABI-1 Electric Generating Unit (EGU) Facility #1, to be located just south of the intersection of TX-351 and FM-604 in Shackelford County near Abilene, Texas”State agency · July 2025 · grade A
- On-site generation: 709 MW“J620: 152 operational of 160 onsite, 3.3 MW per engine, 502 MW; J624: 45 operational of 50 onsite, 4.6 MW per engine, 207 MW; Total: 197 operational engines, 210 engines onsite, 709 MW”State agency · July 2025 · grade A
- Utility:, designed off-grid; behind-the-meter self-supply from VoltaGrid microgrid“VoltaGrid will be leasing a portion of land near the intersection of Texas Highway 351 and Farm to Market 604 to own and operate a Microgrid to self-consume power on location and provide power to a data center”State agency · July 2025 · grade A
- Substation kV: 345 kV“Plot plan labels: SWITCHYARD 345KV; SUBSTATION 345KV; LONE STAR II POWER LINE; 300 ft HV easement”State agency · July 2025 · grade A
- On-site units operational cap: 197 engines“Only one hundred and ninety-seven (197) of the two hundred and ten (210) engines will be operational at a given time, while the remaining thirteen (13) engines will only be operated for maintenance or shutdown of the primary engines”State agency · July 2025 · grade A
- Power plan: onsite“own and operate a Microgrid to self-consume power on location and provide power to a data center”State agency · July 2025 · grade A
- Land control date: On or before July 14, 2025 (VoltaGrid leasing a portion of the site for the microgrid)“VoltaGrid will be leasing a portion of land near the intersection of Texas Highway 351 and Farm to Market 604 to own and operate a Microgrid”State agency · July 2025 · grade A
- Nearest substation: 0.58 km - Post Oak Substation (138 kV)Measured on OpenStreetMap map data.
- Nearest power line of 345 kV or more: 5.17 km - 345 kV lineMeasured on OpenStreetMap map data.
- Nearest power line of 138 kV: 0.63 km - 138 kV lineMeasured on OpenStreetMap map data.
- Nearest gas pipeline: none tagged within 30 km on the mapMeasured on OpenStreetMap map data.
- Nearest power plant: 0.06 km - wind turbineMeasured on OpenStreetMap map data.
- Stated campus size: 1,400 MW“the launch of our Frontier campus with 1.4GW of GPU compute capacity marks a watershed moment for Vantage”Company · Aug. 2025 · grade B
- Cooling: Liquid cooling with closed-loop chiller system (air- and liquid-cooled per DCD)“Frontier will utilize liquid cooling to support next generation GPU loads… a highly efficient closed-loop chiller system which requires minimal water for cooling”Company · Aug. 2025 · grade B
- Grid operator: ERCOT (territory only)“Texas has become a critical and strategic market for AI providers”Company · Aug. 2025 · grade B
- County code: 48417“Voltagrid LLC Abi-1 Electric Generating Unit Abilene, Shackelford County”State agency · July 2025 · grade B
- Phases: Multi-phase build-out through 2029 (aggregator); buildings shown as 132 MW each on VoltaGrid plot plan“Plot plan labels: 1-STORY 132MW BUILDING 3; 1-STORY 132MW BUILDING 4; 1-STORY 132MW BUILDING 5”State agency · July 2025 · grade B
- Interconnection status: No ERCOT large-load interconnection request identified; campus designed for self-supply, with a 345 kV switchyard in the site plan“own and operate a Microgrid to self-consume power on location and provide power to a data center”State agency · July 2025 · grade B
- Stage: Building, but behind its announced schedule: real site work underway since 2025, first-building COD slipped from 2H 2026 to ~2027; permitted on-site generation (709 MW operating) covers about half the stated 1,400“Total: 197 operational engines, 210 engines onsite, 709 MW”State agency · Oct. 2026 · grade C
- Interconnection status: Off-grid by design - no ERCOT interconnection; natural gas microgrid (developed with Voltagrid) reported at ~700 MW phase one scaling to 1.4 GW (210 generators per trade-press walk-throughs of the“This week, Vantage Data Centers hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for our Frontier campus in Shackelford County, Texas”News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
- Vantage is hiring on-site roles for Shackelford County (e.g., Critical Power Systems Technician; Senior Construction Scheduler; Quality & Commissioning Program Manager listed as onsite in Shackelford County, TX), corrobo“This position is onsite in Shackelford County, TX”News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
- Commentary on the Texas interconnection freeze notes Frontier is designed to run off-grid on on-site gas, but its site plan includes a switchyard beside a high-voltage line, consistent with the 345 kV switchyard/substat“Shackelford County: Vantage is building a campus with 1.4 GW of compute for Oracle and OpenAI, designed to run off-grid on on-site gas. But its site plan includes a switchyard beside a high-voltage line”News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
- Gas supplier: Energy Transfer (firm fuel for the Oracle-VoltaGrid fleet, Oct 2025; site-level allocation not stated)“backed by firm fuel from Energy Transfer's 140,000-mile pipeline and storage network”News report · Oct. 2025 · grade C
- Oracle-VoltaGrid collaboration for 2,300 MW of modular gas generation across OCI AI data centers, with firm fuel from Energy Transfer; sites not disclosed, portfolio context for Frontier's power model, not a site alloca“VoltaGrid and its partners did not disclose financial details, site locations, or ownership terms for the 2,300-MW deployment”News report · Oct. 2025 · grade C
Money and contracts (29)
- TPL, the dominant surface owner in the campus county, spent $110.2M acquiring land in Shackelford and Jones Counties in connection with its data center initiatives (Q2 2026 earnings release) - land assembly consistent wi“$110.2 million of aggregate land acquisitions in Shackelford and Jones Counties, Texas, in connection with our data center and power generation initiatives”SEC filing · Aug. 2026 · grade A
- Land lease (power plant parcel): scope VoltaGrid leases a portion of land near TX-351 and FM-604 to own and operate the microgrid serving the campus“VoltaGrid will be leasing a portion of land near the intersection of Texas Highway 351 and Farm to Market 604 to own and operate a Microgrid”State agency · July 2025 · grade A
- Sales tax exemption (Tax Code 151.359 / 151.3595): conditions (program level) Program requires Comptroller certification, at least $200M capital investment and 20 qualifying jobs within five years; certification is revok“If the qualifying owner, operator and occupant of a qualifying data center fail to meet one or more of the certification requirements, the Comptroller will terminate the data center's certification and revoke all related registration numbers”State agency · Oct. 2026 · grade B
- Tenants: Oracle (anchor); OpenAI (end user via Oracle Stargate)“The three new sites—located in Shackelford County, Texas; Doña Ana County, New Mexico; and a site in the Midwest—can deliver over 5.5 gigawatts of capacity”Company · Sept. 2025 · grade B
- Tenant status: Signed at program level (OpenAI-Oracle 4.5 GW Stargate agreement, Jul 2025); campus-level lease not publicly filed; Oracle expected to lease at least part of the campus (Bloomberg via press)“In July, OpenAI and Oracle entered an agreement to develop up to 4.5 gigawatts of additional Stargate capacity… a partnership that exceeds $300 billion between the two companies over the next five years”Company · Sept. 2025 · grade B
- Stargate capacity agreement: scope Up to 4.5 GW of additional Stargate capacity including the Shackelford County site; partnership exceeds $300B over five years MW / USD“In July, OpenAI and Oracle entered an agreement to develop up to 4.5 gigawatts of additional Stargate capacity”Company · Sept. 2025 · grade B
- Stargate capacity agreement: termination / conditions FINDING: no termination, cancellation or condition clauses for the Shackelford site disclosed in the announcement“The three new sites—located in Shackelford County, Texas; Doña Ana County, New Mexico; and a site in the Midwest”Company · Sept. 2025 · grade B
- OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank announce five new Stargate sites including Shackelford County; Stargate totals nearly 7 GW planned and over $400B over three years“brings Stargate to nearly 7 gigawatts of planned capacity and over $400 billion in investment over the next three years”Company · Sept. 2025 · grade B
- Name: Frontier (Stargate Frontier)“today announced its largest investment to date of over $25 billion to develop a mega-scale 1.4GW data center campus in Shackelford County, Texas. The state-of-the-art campus, Frontier”Company · Aug. 2025 · grade B
- Buildings: 10 buildings“The campus will be home to 10 data centers totaling 3.7 million square feet”Company · Aug. 2025 · grade B
- Square feet: 3700000 sq ft“The campus will be home to 10 data centers totaling 3.7 million square feet and can accommodate ultra high-density racks of 250kW+”Company · Aug. 2025 · grade B
- Announced: Aug. 19, 2025“DENVER (Aug. 19, 2025) – Vantage Data Centers … today announced its largest investment to date of over $25 billion to develop a mega-scale 1.4GW data center campus in Shackelford County, Texas”Company · Aug. 2025 · grade B
- Stated capital cost: 25000000000 USD“announced its largest investment to date of over $25 billion to develop a mega-scale 1.4GW data center campus in Shackelford County, Texas”Company · Aug. 2025 · grade B
- Power partnership agreement: scope VoltaGrid to deploy more than 1 GW of prime power generation across Vantage's North America portfolio (portfolio-wide; NOT site-specific to Frontier) MW“Under this strategic agreement, VoltaGrid will deploy more than one gigawatt (GW) of prime power generation capacity across Vantage's expanding North America portfolio”Company · Feb. 2025 · grade B
- Power partnership agreement: termination / conditions FINDING: no term, termination, cancellation or condition clauses disclosed in the announcement; underlying agreement not public“today announce a groundbreaking partnership aimed at delivering rapid, scalable energy solutions in markets where grid power is constrained”Company · Feb. 2025 · grade B
- Financing: Texas facility of $23.25B within a $38B JPMorgan/MUFG-led debt package (with $14.75B for Port Washington, WI); ~250 bp over benchmark; 4-year maturity plus two 1-year extensions; syndication ran months into 20“For the campus in Shackelford County, Texas, several banks have already committed to a $23 billion loan, part of the wider debt package”News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
- Incentives: Chapter 312: Reinvestment Zone 2025-1; $10M per year for 10 years paid in lieu of property taxes; 250 promised jobs; up to 10 college scholarships per year; $150,000 per year community contributions for the f“Vantage Frontier Campus, Albany, Shackelford County, TX — Reinvestment Zone 2025-1; Vantage to pay $10M a year for 10 years in place of property taxes”News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
- Tax abatement / PILOT (Tax Code Chapter 312): scope / zone Reinvestment Zone 2025-1“Vantage Frontier Campus, Albany, Shackelford County, TX — Reinvestment Zone 2025-1”News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
- Tax abatement / PILOT (Tax Code Chapter 312): payment in lieu of taxes 10000000 USD per year“Vantage to pay $10M a year for 10 years in place of property taxes”News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
- Tax abatement / PILOT (Tax Code Chapter 312): jobs commitment 250 full-time jobs“The project is designed to deliver long-term economic and social impact, including 250 full-time jobs with a projected annual payroll of $25 million”News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
- Tax abatement / PILOT (Tax Code Chapter 312): community benefits Up to 10 college scholarships per year for Shackelford County students; $150,000 per year to community causes for the first decade“As many as 10 college scholarships a year for Shackelford County students over the life of the project, in addition to $10 million annual payments in lieu of taxes”News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
- Tax abatement / PILOT (Tax Code Chapter 312): termination / recapture FINDING: termination, cancellation and clawback/recapture clauses are not stated in any public summary read; the executed agreement is not publicly po“Reinvestment Zone 2025-1; Vantage to pay $10M a year for 10 years in place of property taxes”News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
- Construction debt facility: amount (Texas facility) 23250000000 USD“several banks have already committed to a $23 billion loan, part of the wider debt package”News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
- Construction debt facility: term / pricing / extension 4-year maturity with two one-year extension options; pricing around 2.5 percentage points over the US benchmark; syndication across 24+ lenders ran months into 2026,“the banks will eventually distribute the debt to traditional loan investors and private credit funds”News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
- compute services (end customer): capacity 1,400 MW campus capacity (basis unstated)“At full build-out, the 1,200-acre campus will host 10 single-story data centers, totaling 1.4GW across some 3.7 million sq ft (343,740 sqm).”News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
- phase delivery: delivery not named MW (first building; MW not stated)“The first building is due to go live in the second half of 2026.”News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
- Power supply collaboration: scope 2,300 MW of modular natural gas generation for Oracle Cloud Infrastructure AI data centers; firm fuel from Energy Transfer; site locations not disclosed (portfolio-level) MW“VoltaGrid and its partners did not disclose financial details, site locations, or ownership terms for the 2,300-MW deployment”News report · Oct. 2025 · grade C
- tenant lease: contract value 23250000000 USD construction loan facility (Texas)“the data centers in question are being developed by Vantage Data Centers and will be used by Oracle as part of the Stargate deal with OpenAI”News report · Oct. 2025 · grade C
- Announced: Aug. 19, 2025“today announced its portfolio company Vantage Data Centers’ largest project to date: Frontier, a $25 billion, 1.4GW hyperscale data center campus in Shackelford County, Texas”News report · Aug. 2025 · grade C
Permits and government (11)
- Conditions of approval: TCEQ standard permit 180842: max 197 of 210 engines operational at once; MAERT emission caps (NOx 143.23 tpy; CO 228.77 tpy); annual operational-status reporting via STEERS by Dec 31; permit expir“Permittees must report the operational status for each relevant standard permit registration by December 31st of each year electronically through the State of Texas Environmental Electronic Reporting System (STEERS)”State agency · July 2025 · grade A
- Permitted operating hours: 8760 hr/yr“MAXIMUM OPERATING SCHEDULE: Hours/Year 8,760”State agency · July 2025 · grade A
- Air quality standard permit (Electric Generating Units): Authorized (registration approved)“The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has determined that your proposed emissions are authorized by this standard permit pursuant to Title 30 Texas Administrative Code § 116.602”State agency · July 2025 · grade A
- Air quality standard permit (Electric Generating Units): Operating condition imposed“Only one hundred and ninety-seven (197) of the two hundred and ten (210) engines will be operational at a given time, while the remaining thirteen (13) engines will only be operated for maintenance or shutdown of the primary engines”State agency · July 2025 · grade A
- VoltaGrid LLC, Abi-1 Electric Generating Unit, Abilene, Shackelford County (Regu: Air Quality Standard Permit registration authorized (Electric Generating Units)“this registration is for emissions associated with two hundred and ten (210) natural gas generators (EPNs GEN-1 - GEN-210)”State agency · July 2025 · grade A
- Air quality standard permit (Electric Generating Units): Application submitted“VoltaGrid LLC is submitting this air standard permit registration for the installation of two hundred and ten (210) new natural gas generators”State agency · July 2025 · grade A
- Shackelford County Commissioners Court: CONTROL / context item (different project): agenda item 8, request for tax abatement for Windfarm Data Center, action to authorize agreement with Wetsel & Lederle to represent Sha“Request for tax abatement for Windfarm Data Center – Action to authorize agreement with Wetsel & Lederle to represent Shackelford County”Local government · May 2025 · grade A
- Air quality standard permit (Electric Generating Units): Second-phase registration (ABI-2 or expansion), not found“This project will occur at the VoltaGrid ABI-1 Electric Generating Unit (EGU) Facility #1”State agency · Oct. 2026 · grade B
- VoltaGrid LLC applied Dec 12, 2025 for an Electric Power Generation Facility at : NSR/PSD air permit application received (NORI issued Dec 17, 2025); preliminary-decision notice mailed Sep 22, 2026; not issued“This application would authorize construction of an Electric Power Generation Facility located at 299 Farm-to-Market Road 604, Abilene, Shackelford County, Texas”State agency · Sept. 2026 · grade B
- Shackelford County Commissioners Court: Designation of Reinvestment Zone 2025-1 and Chapter 312 abatement/PILOT agreement with Vantage (per secondary incentive trackers)“Vantage Frontier Campus, Albany, Shackelford County, TX — Reinvestment Zone 2025-1; Vantage to pay $10M a year for 10 years in place of property taxes”News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
- Texas governor directed the PUC and ERCOT to audit data-center grid requests (ownership, financing, water use, community impact); roughly 300 projects of 75 MW or more under review and new ERCOT interconnections effectiv“Governor Abbott directed the PUC and ERCOT to audit data center interconnection requests, including ownership, financing, water use and community impact”News report · Aug. 2026 · grade C
Legal (2)
- Lawsuits: None naming the Frontier campus. Related-party Clean Air Act citizen suit (5:26-cv-06032, W.D. Tex., filed Sep 21, 2026) covers only Vantage/VoltaGrid's San Antonio campuses (Omicron Drive and Rogers Road) case“Declare that Defendants have violated and are in violation of the Clean Air Act and the Texas SIP by constructing and/or operating the Omicron Drive Campus and the Rogers Road Campus without required Nonattainment New Source Review permits”Court filing · Sept. 2026 · grade A
- Public Citizen and Sierra Club filed a Clean Air Act citizen suit (5:26-cv-06032, W.D. Tex.) against Vantage and VoltaGrid over the San Antonio Omicron Drive and Rogers Road campuses' minor-source permits, the same stan“We're suing Vantage and VoltaGrid because industrial development at this scale requires public input and stringent permits that prioritize health and air quality”News report · Sept. 2026 · grade C
Site and other (15)
- County code: 48417“FCC Census Block API at 32.5765,-99.5700: County FIPS 48417, Shackelford County, Texas; campus described in Shackelford County in all sources”Dataset · Oct. 2026 · grade B
- Developer: Vantage Data Centers“Vantage Data Centers, a leading global provider of hyperscale data centers, today announced its largest investment to date”Company · Aug. 2025 · grade B
- Operator: Vantage Data Centers“Situated on 1,200 acres, Vantage's Frontier campus is the largest across its global portfolio”Company · Aug. 2025 · grade B
- Acres: 1200 acres“Situated on 1,200 acres, Vantage's Frontier campus is the largest across its global portfolio”Company · Aug. 2025 · grade B
- Water use stated: Minimal water for cooling; closed-loop chiller saving billions of gallons annually (company claim; no metered figure disclosed)“will use a highly efficient closed-loop chiller system which requires minimal water for cooling, saving billions of gallons of water annually”Company · Aug. 2025 · grade B
- Original target date: 2026-H2 (first building delivery)“Construction on the campus has already begun, with the first building scheduled for delivery in the second half of 2026”Company · Aug. 2025 · grade B
- Workforce estimate: 5000 people“will lead to advancements in AI and employ more than 5,000 individuals across construction and ongoing operations”Company · Aug. 2025 · grade B
- Opposition: No organized opposition to Frontier found as of Oct 2026; county judge publicly supportive; local coverage focuses on construction traffic management“County officials have previously noted that while construction will take time and present short-term challenges, the project has the potential to bring long-term infrastructure investment and future tax benefits to Shackelford County”News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
- Site acres: 1200 acres“At full build-out, the 1,200-acre campus will host 10 single-story data centers, totaling 1.4GW across some 3.7 million sq ft”News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
- Building count planned: 10 buildings“At full build-out, the 1,200-acre campus will host 10 single-story data centers, totaling 1.4GW across some 3.7 million sq ft”News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
- Construction status: Groundbreaking ceremony held the week of Oct 12-18, 2026 (Vantage announcement via LinkedIn, reported by DCD); site work at the anchor corner is visible in OSM as a construction way“This week, Vantage Data Centers hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for our Frontier campus in Shackelford County, Texas”News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
- Groundbreaking date: Oct. 2026 (ceremony; site work began earlier, in 2025)“This week, Vantage Data Centers hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for our Frontier campus in Shackelford County, Texas, the company announced on LinkedIn”News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
- Current target date: 2027 (first building, estimated)“The first building is due to go live in the second half of 2026”News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
- Construction stage: Grading / site work (heavy gravel hauling phase passed; early groundwork ongoing)“As the project moves beyond the heavy gravel hauling phase… work at the site remains focused on early groundwork as the massive project begins to take shape”News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
- Vantage held a Frontier groundbreaking ceremony in Shackelford County (company LinkedIn via DCD), more than a year after its Aug 2025 release said construction had already begun“This week, Vantage Data Centers hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for our Frontier campus in Shackelford County, Texas”News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
Imagery and records: Satellite imagery: Maxar via Esri World Imagery Wayback; Sentinel-2 (ESA Copernicus).