President-elect Donald Trump announced on Tuesday a multi-billion dollar initiative to expand data center footprints throughout the United States, with Texas targeted in phase one.
Emirati billionaire Hussain Sajwani, head of luxury real estate development company Damac Properties, will bankroll the $20 billion project. The first phase will see the investment focused on Texas, along with Arizona, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, and Indiana.
“The investment will support massive new data centers across the Midwest, the Sun Belt area, and also to keep America on the cutting edge of technology and artificial intelligence,” Trump said at a January 7 press conference, per the Dallas Business Journal.
While it is unclear how the investment will be allocated, Texas, especially North Texas, remains one of the country’s epicenters of data center growth.
Last month, The Dallas Express reported that Microsoft Corp. and QTS Realty Trust LLC, based in Kansas, are collectively building over one million square feet of new data center space in the region.
DataBank recently announced it will expand its existing data center campus in Ellis County. The $265 million project is expected to produce an additional 425,000-square-foot facility. And in August, Google announced it would invest $1 billion in the Lone Star State to expand cloud and data center capabilities in Texas.
North Texas’ large tracts of open land, as well as its abundant and affordable energy, make it an ideal location for data centers. According to Bloomberg, QTS projects that over two dozen data centers, mainly in the United States, will use roughly six gigawatts. That’s enough energy to power 4.5 million homes.
“Today marks a significant milestone as we announce a $20 billion investment in the United States, reinforcing our commitment to driving global growth and strengthening international partnerships. It was an honor to announce and collaborate with President-elect @realDonaldTrump under his leadership, highlighting our shared dedication to innovation, prosperity, and long-term success. This investment reflects our confidence in the U.S. market and our ambition to create lasting value,” Sajwani wrote on social media platform X on January 7.