Data center startup ECL claims that it will build a 1GW AI data center on a more than 600-acre site east of Houston, Texas, powered by hydrogen. The TerraSite-TX1 will initially have a capacity of 50MW, coming next summer, at a cost of around $450 million. AI cloud provider Lambda will be the first customer, but is not taking the whole 50MW.

Data Center-as-a-Service pioneer ECL, which unveiled the world’s first off-grid, sustainable, modular, built-to-suit data center on June 20, 2024, today announced that it will build the first fully sustainable 1GW AI Factory data center – ECL TerraSite-TX1 on a 600+ acre site east of Houston,

California-based data center developer ECL is incorporating hydrogen fuel cells and battery storage into its projects to enable a completely self-contained generating capacity, even to the point of being grid free.

ECL says it will build a 1 GW hydrogen-powered AI factory data center in Houston, Texas, with Lambda as its first tenant. The initial $450 million phase is scheduled for completion in summer 2025.

Across the nation, utilities are worried about expanding the overburdened power grid, citing high costs and concerns about commitment from data center projects.

A California company is planning an $8 billion data center project that aims to circumvent a growing criticism of such facilities.