Pace Plans 100MW 'Texas First' Data Center in Glasscock County, with Potential to Scale to 1GW
April 27, 2026
Pace Plans 100MW 'Texas First' Data Center in Glasscock County, with Potential to Scale to 1GW
A new data center developer, Pace, has announced plans to build a 100MW facility in Glasscock County, Texas, marking what the company describes as a “Texas-first” approach to development. The project, named the Lone Star Project, is designed to prioritize local resources and could eventually scale to 1GW, positioning it as a significant player in the state’s rapidly expanding data center market.
The initiative underscores Texas’s growing dominance in the AI data center sector, driven by abundant land, available power, and a favorable regulatory environment. Real estate firm JLL recently projected that Texas could become the world’s largest data center market by 2030, surpassing Northern Virginia. Pace’s project aligns with this trend, aiming to cater specifically to AI workloads from the outset.
Pace, based in Austin, Texas, was founded by Preston Stein and Chance Pressley. Stein, who has a background in the oil and gas industry, emphasized the project’s focus on speed and scalability. “The Lone Star Project is being built around speed to power, disciplined execution, and long-term scalability in a location with the ingredients required to support serious compute demand,” he said. The company has already secured 100MW of behind-the-meter natural gas energy for the initial phase, along with land, water, and redundant fiber access. While no timeline has been set for completion, Pace intends to eventually tap into grid energy from Texas power provider ERCOT to support later stages of the campus buildout.
The project reflects a deliberate strategy to engage Texas-based businesses throughout development. Pressley noted, “Our objective is to build a durable platform in Glasscock County grounded in real infrastructure site control, water, fiber, and substantial behind-the-meter gas positioning - and, wherever possible, to carry that work forward with Texas people and Texas businesses.” This approach, which the company calls a “Texas-first development philosophy,” prioritizes local providers, contractors, and vendors to align the project with the state’s energy and industrial capabilities.
The implications for the broader industry are significant. As AI workloads drive unprecedented demand for compute power, projects like Pace’s highlight the shift toward purpose-built campuses that combine rapid deployment with long-term scalability. By securing behind-the-meter gas and essential infrastructure early, Pace is positioning itself to bypass some of the grid constraints that have slowed other developments. If successful, the Lone Star Project could serve as a model for how new entrants can leverage regional strengths to compete in the high-stakes data center market, further cementing Texas’s role as a hub for AI infrastructure.
Source: datacenterdynamics
