Rick Perry, the former Texas governor who later served as U.S. Energy Secretary, has thrown his weight behind a sprawling new project set to reshape the power landscape. Through Fermi America, the company he co-founded, Perry aims to build an 11-gigawatt complex near Lubbock that combines natural gas and nuclear power to feed the insatiable demands of data centers, particularly those running artificial intelligence operations.
The venture, dubbed Project Matador, kicks off with a 6-gigawatt natural gas plant, which just secured preliminary approval from Texas authorities. This phase alone ranks among the world’s largest clean natural gas facilities, designed to come online by 2028 and start generating revenue fast. Following that, plans call for adding 5 gigawatts from small modular nuclear reactors in the 2030s, creating what could become one of America’s biggest nuclear setups.
Perry sees this as a practical path forward. “Natural gas is the perfect bridge to get us to the nuclear future,” he said. The strategy aligns with the reality that AI workloads require reliable, round-the-clock power that intermittent sources like wind and solar often can’t deliver without massive backups.
Fermi America made waves when it went public last month through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, catapulting its valuation to $19 billion amid investor frenzy over AI-related infrastructure. Perry holds about a 1% stake in the firm, positioning him to benefit substantially from the project’s success.
The site sits on land leased from Texas Tech University, with the university poised to gain from the deal through potential equity and job creation. Recent announcements include partnerships with suppliers like GE Vernova for turbines and Westinghouse for nuclear tech, advancing the nuclear component.
This push comes as data centers explode in growth, driven by tech giants racing to dominate AI. Projections show U.S. electricity demand could double by 2030, much of it from these facilities, straining grids already burdened by regulatory hurdles and supply chain issues. Perry’s approach emphasizes building nuclear reactors in factories for efficiency. “We’re going to build these things in a factory, like we build cars or airplanes,” he noted.
Critics have labeled such mega-projects as risky, pointing to historical nuclear overruns and questioning the job promises. Yet supporters argue they secure energy independence, sidestepping foreign reliance and federal overreach that has hampered domestic production. With Trump-era policies echoing in recent nuclear revival talks, initiatives like this could counter what some view as deliberate efforts to weaken American grids through misguided environmental agendas.
Perry’s track record fits this moment—during his time at the Energy Department, he championed fossil fuels and nuclear as pillars of security. Now, as AI reshapes economies, his bet on Texas’s abundant resources could prove prescient, ensuring the U.S. stays ahead in a field where power literally means control.
