New Era Energy & Digital, Inc. (Nasdaq: NUAI) announced that its subsidiary, TCDC PowerCo LLC, has signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with Luminant ET Services Company LLC, an affiliate of Vistra Corp. (NYSE: VST). Under the deal, Luminant will supply a minimum of 200 MW and up to 207 MW of power for Phase 1 of New Era's Texas Critical Data Center (TCDC) project, according to the company's announcement.
The contracted power will come from Vistra's 1,180 MW natural gas-fired generating facility in Odessa, Texas, located immediately adjacent to the 493-acre TCDC site in Midland, in the Permian Basin. The power is expected to be available to the data center in the third quarter of 2027, and the PPA carries an initial 20-year term with automatic one-year renewals thereafter.
Alongside the PPA, New Era and Vistra affiliates also signed a development framework agreement. Under its terms, Vistra will receive a 5% non-voting interest in the powered portion of the project once power delivery begins, along with rights of first refusal on future expansion of TCDC and first offer rights on other New Era projects.
"Having firm, contracted power for Phase 1 in New Era's name is an incredible milestone which we believe materially reduces Phase 1 development risk at TCDC," said Charlie Nelson, Chairman and CEO of New Era. "With the land secured, construction permits in hand, Phase 1 power contracted for 20 years, and room to expand to multiple phases, we believe this is an attractive opportunity to any quality tenant currently in the market."
Claudia Morrow, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Strategy at Vistra, said: "Demand for reliable power to support digital infrastructure continues to grow across the United States. We are pleased to work with New Era on a long-term power arrangement for the TCDC project and to establish a framework that allows us to evaluate additional development opportunities together over time."