PowerHouse and Big Watt Digital have secured approval for a gigawatt scale data center campus in Taylor, Texas, about 35 miles northeast of Austin. Taylor City Council voted unanimously for the Taylor Technology Campus, previously known as Project Mustang, on a 664 acre site between FM 112 and US 79.
The design pairs the data centers with dedicated behind the meter power from a new 750 megawatt natural gas plant, rather than waiting on incremental grid capacity. The first phase aims to offer 500 megawatts, with first power targeted for the first half of 2028, and the site is planned with closed loop cooling to limit water use.
PowerHouse, a division of American Real Estate Partners, says its portfolio and pipeline total more than 8 gigawatts across several states, and Brookfield recently took a minority stake in its parent. Big Watt, founded in 2021, specialises in dedicated generation for digital infrastructure and lists four projects totalling 5 gigawatts across three states.
The project adds to a dense Texas pipeline for the same developer, including a 201 megawatt site in Irving and a 768 acre campus south of Dallas. The investment question is no longer whether Texas can permit gigawatt campuses; it is whether the gas plant, cooling and tenant demand arrive on the same 2028 schedule the approval assumes.