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Credit: Fermi promotional video<\/p>\nAlmost 30 regulatory agencies were involved when Fermi America worked with the federal government to trade a piece of land between Texas Tech and Pantex 150 miles north of Lubbock. Fermi is using Tech property for a giant artificial intelligence project.<\/p>\n
It took 45 days.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat should take years. So, I think that this is important to our current administration,\u201d said Trent Sisemore, who represents Fermi\u2019s Project Matador.<\/p>\n
America is the global leader in artificial intelligence \u2013 according to the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI \u2013 and wants to keep that ranking.<\/p>\n
The Fermi plant \u2013 in partnership with Texas Tech \u2013 will play a major role by:<\/p>\n
Generating the massive amount of power to power AI and the companies using it.<\/p>\n
Not taking power away from homeowners and businesses.<\/p>\n
Creating new revenue for Tech and acting something like the Permanent University Fund (PUF) \u2013 which has supported the University of Texas and Texas A&M for more than a century.<\/p>\n
No one knows an exact dollar figure of the benefit to Tech, said Sisemore, former Amarillo mayor.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would be misspeaking to give you an exact number or even a close number. I do know that it is a large amount of money. \u2026 The better that Fermi does, the better it\u2019ll be financially for Texas Tech\u201d Sisemore said.<\/p>\n
When asked if the Permanent University Fund (PUF) is a fair comparison, Sisemore said, \u201cAccording to officials within the company that have alluded to that exact quote, I would think it would be fair to say it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
LubbockLights.com invited the Texas Tech University System to comment but they have not responded. If they do, we\u2019ll follow up.<\/p>\n
Credit: Fermi promotional video<\/p>\n
Fermi has a 99-year lease for more than 5,000 acres from Tech next door to the Pantex Plant where the nation\u2019s nuclear weapons are disassembled and retrofitted.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt production, it should be the largest private power producer in the United States,\u201d said Sisemore.<\/p>\n
The plan is 11 gigawatts \u2013 including 4.4 gigawatts of nuclear. Solar and battery storage will be part of the mix.<\/p>\n
\u201cHoover Dam is two gigawatts. The city of Manhattan is probably five gigawatts. It\u2019s two Manhattans,\u201d Sisemore said.<\/p>\n
Also, Sisemore was confident a recent drop in Fermi\u2019s stock price to $8.59 following its \u201cfirst tenant\u201d dropping out would not hurt Project Matador.<\/p>\n
The hyperscaler landlord<\/p>\n
Fermi will be the landlord \u2013 providing power and location. Other companies will be the tenants and do actual data crunching. While Sisemore could not name specific companies \u2013 calling them hyperscalers<\/a> \u2013 he did say they\u2019re likely to be names you\u2019ve heard.<\/p>\n \u201cJust like a strip center would have someone that comes in and puts a kitchen in one and a restaurant \u2013 and the next one might be a clothing store,\u201d Sisemore said.<\/p>\n Lots of Lubbock connections<\/p>\n Former governor Rick Perry and Toby Neugebauer, the son of former Lubbock Congressman Randy Neugebauer are Fermi\u2019s co-founders.<\/p>\n Other leadership includes Charlie Hamilton and Cathy Landtroop \u2013 well-known names in the Lubbock business community.<\/p>\n Sisemore got a call from Hamilton inviting him to join Fermi. When he didn\u2019t say yes, the former governor called.<\/p>\n \u201cI just have the highest of respect for him, both when he was governor and when he was the energy secretary. And so it doesn\u2019t take much persuading from somebody that you have that kind of respect,\u201d Sisemore said.<\/p>\n Sisemore was Perry\u2019s pilot when he was campaigning for Texas commissioner of agriculture in the 1990s.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve known Governor Perry for many years and he asked me to be a part of this. And he understands that China has built 33 nuclear reactors since we built our last one \u2013 and that we\u2019re behind,\u201d Sisemore said.<\/p>\n Keeping up with China<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think China has built 33 nuclear reactors to air condition the houses in Shanghai. Whoever owns the power production owns AI,\u201d Sisemore said.<\/p>\n \u201cAI will be strategic in any kind of competition we have with foreign governments. \u2026 With owning AI, you can control other satellites, you can control their golden domes [missile defense systems], you can control their financial networks, you can control their infrastructure if you have a way to manipulate those type of industries,\u201d Sisemore said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to be the best in everything we do, whether it\u2019s in the production of airplanes and the production of weapon systems. Our military is the best. And if we want to continue to be the best in all areas, AI is one of those, and it takes a lot of power to power AI,\u201d Sisemore said.<\/p>\n America\u2019s AI Action Plan<\/p>\n The following is from President Trump on the second page of America\u2019s AI Action Plan.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cToday, a new frontier of scientific discovery lies before us, defined by transformative technologies such as artificial intelligence\u2026 Breakthroughs in these fields have the potential to reshape the global balance of power, spark entirely new industries, and revolutionize the way we live and work. As our global competitors race to exploit these technologies, it is a national security imperative for the United States to achieve and maintain unquestioned and unchallenged global technological dominance. To secure our future, we must harness the full power of American innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n Nuclear power<\/p>\n Power will first come from natural gas, Sisemore said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe site where Fermi is, really is kind of the DFW of natural gas. There are multiple different major gas lines that run right through that area,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n In July, the company announced the purchase of six Siemens SGT800 gas turbines and other equipment with an eye toward delivering roughly one gigawatt by the end of 2026.<\/p>\n Gas-fired power continues to develop while nuclear comes soon if all goes to plan.<\/p>\n Fermi filed an application in June with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to build four Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear reactors, each with about 1.1 gigawatts of capacity.<\/p>\n \u201cConstruction of the first AP1000 reactor is projected to begin in 2026, with a five-year build timeline. The initial unit is targeted to be operational by April 2031,\u201d the license application said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re looking at AP1000, but there are other options also. \u2026 Fermi is working with government agencies to license nuclear that is more hybrid cooling using air and water. So, it\u2019ll be much more efficient than typical nuclear power plants would be.\u201d Sisemore said.<\/p>\n The site will probably use about 2.5 million gallons per day \u2013 which he compared with five to 10 irrigation crop circles for corn, Sisemore said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a large amount of water. But compared to how much water is being used daily in the Panhandle, it\u2019s a very small amount.\u201d Sisemore said.<\/p>\n Highlights of Fermi\u2019s NRC application<\/p>\n \u201cThe property lies adjacent to the DOE-operated Pantex Plant, offering unique proximity to a federally hardened and environmentally characterized site. The lease enables project staging within zones already subjected to environmental review, reducing permitting timeframes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFermi America\u2019s sovereign leasehold interest was executed in April 2025 through a Ground Lease Development Agreement with Texas Tech University. The lease grants exclusive development rights for nuclear and energy generation and developmental sovereignty over zoning, permitting and municipal oversight.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFermi controls access, development and improvement rights to all 5,855 acres. Texas Tech maintains a non-interfering oversight role, limited to revenue participation and covenant enforcement. Fermi has the authority to construct, sublease and operate all facilities located within the boundary \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Already living with nuclear<\/p>\n When asked by LubbockLights.com if a nearby nuclear power plant might cause concern for Amarillo homeowners, Sisemore answered, \u201cI don\u2019t know why it would be fearful. We have them on every aircraft carrier. \u2026 Our submarines are nuclear.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNuclear is by far the safest energy. There\u2019s not anyone that\u2019s ever been killed in the United States by nuclear. We live with nuclear in Amarillo,\u201d Sisemore said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have the final assembly-disassembly point of all nuclear weapons just north of here \u2013 right next to where the Fermi plant is going to be. So, the majority of people are not fearful of nuclear. They understand that we steward the nation\u2019s stockpile of nuclear weapons,\u201d Sisemore said.<\/p>\n Not taking power from the grid<\/p>\n According to a software logistics company called Cargoson<\/a>, \u201cAs of November 2025, the United States has 5,427 data centers, making it the world\u2019s largest data center market by a significant margin.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cRight now, there\u2019s a lot of data centers being built. However, a lot of those data centers are taking power from the grid. And that\u2019s not fair to the people that actually paid for that infrastructure through their electrical bills,\u201d Sisemore said.<\/p>\n Fermi is different, he said \u2013 with plans for power independence. And the power consumers are on the same patch of dirt as the power plants. No need for long-distance power lines.<\/p>\n \u201cBut other data centers, they\u2019ve got to take power from somewhere,\u201d Sisemore said.<\/p>\n That gets expensive for everyone if utility companies must build out new infrastructure.<\/p>\n \u201cAI data companies \u2013 they should pay part of that bill. And so that\u2019s part of what Fermi\u2019s doing \u2013 is allowing that to happen by building their own power production and allowing those hyperscalers to rent that space from Fermi,\u201d Sisemore said.<\/p>\n Next to Pantex for a reason<\/p>\n Fermi\u2019s proximity to Pantex is strategic, Sisemore said.<\/p>\n Regular environmental studies are already conducted on the location for the benefit of Pantex. And there are already security buffers in place at the location \u2013 again for Pantex\u2019s benefit.<\/p>\n As for new jobs, Fermi\u2019s NRC application said, \u201cEconomic modeling \u2026 is expected to forecast over 9,000 peak construction-phase jobs and more than 600 permanent operating-phase jobs associated with the nuclear project alone.\u201d<\/p>\n That doesn\u2019t include data center jobs estimated in the thousands.<\/p>\n IPO, 8-K and stock price<\/p>\n Fermi went public between September 30 and October 1 with an IPO or initial public offering of stock, raising $682.5 million. It closed that first day on the market at $32.50 per share.<\/p>\n It got people\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n For example, journalist Sebastian Moss wrote in October for datacenterdynamics.com<\/a>, \u201cDespite having built nothing, shown no revenue and having no customers, the company went public and is now worth more than Hasbro, makers of GI Joe, Magic and the Transformers brand.\u201d<\/p>\n But recently, Fermi hit a bump in the road. It had a non-binding deal including an exclusivity period with a company known only as its \u201cfirst tenant.\u201d First tenant agreed to advance $150 million to offset constructions if certain conditions were met but then backed out on December 11. The stock price \u2013 which previously dropped to $15.25, dropped to $8.59 a few days later.<\/p>\n A special public report called an 8-K filing revealed the development with first tenant. However, it also revealed that negotiations were continuing and Fermi said it \u201cremains confident.\u201d<\/p>\n Sisemore also expressed a sense of confidence.<\/p>\n \u201cFermi is still in negotiations with them, but when the exclusivity agreement was taken off the table, that allowed other companies to look, and there are other companies now in negotiation also with Fermi,\u201d Sisemore said.<\/p>\n National law firm Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd said it\u2019s investigating<\/a> \u201cpotential violations of U.S. federal securities laws involving Fermi Inc., focused on whether Fermi and certain of its top executives made false and\/or misleading statements and\/or failed to disclose material information to investors.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Fermi](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/fermi_land_map_1920x1080_02.jpg\")
Credit: Fermi promotional video<\/p>\n
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