WHY IS LIFE SO HARD?Data-center field guide
Texas facility dossier · sources checked 2026-11-08

Project Caprock data center — Abernathy, Texas

Aligned Data Centers announced on April 9, 2026, that it had broken ground on Project Caprock, a 540 MW campus on 313 acres in Hale County just outside Abernathy. The first building is targeted for Q1 2027.

Short answer

Project Caprock is a 540 MW, six-building data center campus on 313 acres in Hale County, outside Abernathy, Texas. Developer Aligned Data Centers says it will bring about 1.65 million square feet of capacity and roughly $5 billion in regional investment. The first building, LBB-01, has a targeted service date of Q1 2027. Xcel Energy is the utility partner on power, and the company says it funds the dedicated grid infrastructure itself.

At a glance

Developer / operator
Aligned Data Centers (company statement and trade press)
Location
Hale County, just outside Abernathy, Texas
Size
313 acres; about 1.65 million sq ft across six facilities
Capacity
540 MW planned
Investment
About $5 billion projected regional investment (company figure)
First building
LBB-01, service targeted Q1 2027
Utility
Xcel Energy (collaboration described by Aligned)
Status
Groundbreaking announced April 9, 2026

What the sources establish

  • Aligned announced Project Caprock on April 9, 2026, as a 540 MW, 313-acre campus in Hale County outside Abernathy. [1] [2]
  • At full build-out the site will hold about 1.65 million square feet of capacity across six facilities. [1] [2] [3]
  • Aligned projects roughly $5 billion of investment in the regional economy, a figure that comes from the company. [1] [2]
  • Development starts with LBB-01, the campus's first data center, which has an anticipated service date of Q1 2027. [1] [2] [3]
  • The campus uses Aligned's DeltaFlow liquid cooling and an air-cooled heat rejection system on a closed loop. Aligned says the loop recirculates the same water, so the site does not draw on the Ogallala Aquifer. [1] [2]
  • Aligned says it is building and funding the dedicated electrical infrastructure for the campus, with Xcel Energy as its partner, so that local ratepayers do not pay for it. [1] [2]
  • Aligned's workforce plan runs through its Aligned Academy, with partnerships at local schools. [1] [2]
  • Aligned operates existing campuses in Chicago, Dallas, Salt Lake City, Phoenix and Northern Virginia, and has its own sites in development in several other states. [3]

Conflicts. Water claims differ in emphasis. The press release says the loop 'will not compete' with agricultural or residential water needs, and Converge Digest says the design is meant to eliminate net water use from local aquifers. Both are company claims. The announcement does not give an annual water volume. A third page, from w.media, was listed earlier but returned no article text when opened on Nov. 8, 2026, so it is not relied on here.

Background

Ryan Companies, a construction firm, is quoted in the announcement as a partner on the Abernathy project. The company's leaders quoted there describe the campus as a source of multi-year construction work and, after completion, permanent technology jobs. Those jobs figures are company projections; no headcount is given in the sources.

Converge Digest, which reported the groundbreaking, placed the project in a wider pattern of multi-hundred-megawatt AI campuses in secondary markets such as West Texas. That is the publication's own analysis, not a fact about this project.

Timeline

  1. April 9, 2026 — Aligned announces Project Caprock and says construction has begun.
  2. Q1 2027 (target) — LBB-01, the first building, is scheduled to enter service.

What this page does not establish

  • The power draw of each building and the total load the campus will place on the Xcel system.
  • The annual water volume the closed loop uses, and whether any make-up water is needed.
  • The timing and cost of the dedicated grid infrastructure Aligned says it is funding.
  • Whether the six facilities are on the same schedule, since only the first building has a stated date.
  • Any local tax abatement or incentive agreement; none appears in these sources.

What to check next

  1. Hale County and City of Abernathy permits and any development agreement.
  2. Public Utility Commission of Texas filings for the Xcel interconnection.
  3. Texas Commission on Environmental Quality permits for backup generators, if any are filed.
  4. Aligned's quarterly or project updates on LBB-01 timing.

Frequently asked questions

How big is Project Caprock?

The campus is planned at 540 MW on 313 acres in Hale County, Texas, with about 1.65 million square feet of capacity across six facilities, according to Aligned.

When will the first building open?

Aligned gives a targeted service date of Q1 2027 for LBB-01, the first building on the campus.

Where is Project Caprock?

It sits in Hale County, just outside Abernathy in Northwest Texas.

Who provides power to the campus?

Xcel Energy is named as the power partner. Aligned says it is building and paying for the dedicated electrical infrastructure.

Does the campus use local groundwater?

Aligned says its closed-loop cooling recirculates the same water and does not draw on the Ogallala Aquifer. This is the company's statement, and the sources give no annual water volume.