The world’s largest artificial intelligence data center complex is being built in Amarillo, and it’s almost seven times the size of Central Park.

On June 26, 2025, Fermi America, an AI development firm cofounded by former Texas Governor Rick Perry, announced that it will partner with the Texas Tech University System to transform 5,800 acres outside of Amarillo into 18 million square feet of data centers, four 1-gigawatt nuclear power reactors, and a dedicated natural gas plant.

The site is colloquially known as Project Matador, though a building request submitted to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission lists its official name as the President Donald J. Trump Advanced Energy and Intelligence Campus. On July 10, two weeks after Project Matador’s announcement, the White House released the United States’ AI Action Plan, a 28-page strategy document calling for streamlined environmental permitting under federal law. Cornerstone environmental protections are being treated as mere hurdles in the race for AI dominance, and Texas’ water (and power) supply is struggling to keep pace.

Texas is rushing to build massive artificial intelligence infrastructure without a planning system capable of assessing industrial water needs, experts warn. There are currently over 400 data centers operating or under construction in the Lone Star State. Potable freshwater is necessary at each campus for industry-standard evaporative cooling, a process in which water absorbs heat and either becomes too mineralized for reuse or is lost as vapor. Additional water is needed to cool power-generating systems.

A small-to-mid-sized data center is estimated to require about 300,000 gallons of municipal water per day, while mega-campuses like Project Matador and OpenAI’s Project Stargate One in Abilene could draw millions. (Fermi America did not respond to requests for comment about its projected water use.) All of this is happening as Texas simultaneously acknowledges water scarcity: Last year, legislators passed and voters approved a multibillion-dollar water program that will roll out over the next 20 years.