Microsoft’s 2GW Texas Campus Puts AI Data Centers Into The Gas-Power Debate
Microsoft is planning a 2GW data center campus in Pecos, Texas, with Chevron supplying up to 2.67GW of behind-the-meter power under a 20-year PPA.
Microsoft Links AI Capacity To Dedicated Gas Power
Microsoft is planning a 2GW data center campus in Pecos, Texas, and the power plan is as important as the computing site.
Chevron will supply up to 2.67GW of behind-the-meter power for the project under a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement.
The project, known as Project Kirby, is being developed by Chevron and Engine No. 1, with first power delivery expected in 2028.
The arrangement puts Microsoft’s AI and cloud expansion directly into the energy-for-compute debate.
Instead of relying only on grid access, the company is tying a large data center campus to dedicated natural gas generation that can be built and scaled alongside the facility.
A Multibillion-Dollar Campus With A Phased Buildout
Microsoft described the Pecos plan as a multibillion-dollar data center campus.
The company expects investment to run across a five-to-seven-year buildout, with roughly 6,000 construction jobs when the site is fully built.
The power supply will increase incrementally because the plant is being built in phases.
Project Kirby will rely mainly on large GE Vernova-manufactured turbines and associated electrical infrastructure, with additional capacity from Solar Turbines, a Caterpillar subsidiary.
Chevron and Engine No. 1 already hold seven GE Vernova 7HA natural gas turbines under their earlier partnership.
The exact turbine model was not disclosed.
GE Vernova’s listed 7HA range includes 290MW, 384MW and 430MW options, so the final configuration remains a technical detail for the power partners rather than a confirmed site specification.
AI Growth Meets Power, Water And Local Infrastructure
Chevron president of New Energies Jeff Gustavson said abundant, affordable and reliable energy is essential for AI’s economic impact, and Microsoft cloud operations president Noelle Walsh said the company needs energy infrastructure that can scale quickly and reliably for AI and cloud demand.
Those comments frame the project as a response to a physical bottleneck.
Advanced compute capacity is not only a question of servers, chips and buildings; it also depends on power generation, electrical infrastructure, cooling and local permitting.
Chevron says the project could create more than $10 billion in tax revenue for state and local governments.
The company also plans to use non-potable, brackish groundwater for power plant operations and says it is working on reuse of produced water from oil and gas operations.
Pecos is not a typical Texas data center market, but the area is drawing energy-linked infrastructure proposals.
Pacific Energy announced plans in August 2025 for a 5GW off-grid power project in nearby Pecos County designed to serve hyperscale data centers.
Microsoft already has a significant Texas data center footprint, including facilities in Medina and Castroville, and in March 2026 it signed on to lease about 700MW from Crusoe’s Abilene campus.
The unresolved issue in Pecos is whether dedicated gas generation can give Microsoft the speed and reliability it wants without turning AI infrastructure growth into a larger fight over fuel use, water and local energy planning.
