OpenAI Stargate Milam · Milam County, TX
Last change recorded 2026-10-05 · Last checked 2026-10-04
Latest: OpenAI and SoftBank commit $1bn to SB Energy for the 1.2 GW Milam County site · Financing closed · 2026-01-09 · recorded 2026-10-05
SB Energy (SoftBank) builds and operates the 1.2 GW fast-build Stargate site in Milam County next to its 900 MWdc Orion Solar Belt (operating since October 2024 under a Google PPA); new on-site solar and storage are to supply most of the campus. Ground broken October 2025; SoftBank and OpenAI each invested $500m in SB Energy in January 2026. March 2026 imagery shows steel and roofing on building 1, with filings pointing to delivery by October 2026; completion projected Q4 2028. · source ◐ secondary, confidence medium
Recorded readiness — 4 of 7 applicable milestones have a dated public record
Gate to first power — target 2026-10-31 (announced) · path: Hybrid: on-site bridge, then grid · each step must finish its lead time before the target
2 of 5 required steps have a public date. Red = recorded date past the rule-based deadline · grey "no public date" = required step without a record · green = on record in time · context steps never colour.
| Step | Must finish by | Others did it | Known date | Status | Basis | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Site secured (context) | 2025-07-28 (15 mo before) | 13 mo before (n=26) | 2026-01-09 | context | SB Energy partnership and $1bn investment · ◐ | |
| Permits in hand | 2026-10-28 (0 mo before) | 4 mo after (n=8) | no public date | no public date · would need to be done by 2026-10-28 | No date on record | |
| Grid supply agreed | 2026-01-28 (9 mo before) | 7 mo before (n=11) | no public date | no public date · would need to be done by 2026-01-28 | No date on record | |
| New generation online | 2026-09-28 (1 mo before) | 12 mo after (n=1) | 2024-10-01 | on record in time | Adjacent Orion Solar Belt (900 MWdc) in commercial operation · ◐ | |
| Major equipment on site | 2026-04-28 (6 mo before) | 9 mo after (n=1) | no public date | no public date · would need to be done by 2026-04-28 | No date on record | |
| Construction started (context) | 2024-10-28 (24 mo before) | 29 mo before (n=15) | 2025-10-15 | context | Ground broken (October 2025) · ◐ | |
| Building ready for IT | 2026-10-28 (0 mo before) | 2 mo after (n=7) | 2026-10-31 plan | plan inside the deadline | First building delivery (regulatory filings) · ◐ | |
| Full build-out complete (context) | 2027-10-28 (-12 mo before) | — | 2028-12-31 plan | context | Completion (projected Q4 2028) · ◐ | |
| Financing closed (context) | 2025-10-28 (12 mo before) | 12 mo before (n=2) | 2026-01-09 | context | OpenAI and SoftBank commit $1bn to SB Energy for the 1.2 GW Milam County site · ● |
Lead-time assumptions
- Site secured 15 months before first power — Land under control and campus announced. Rarely binding; shown for context.
- Permits in hand 0 months before first power — Final air and siting permits. Operators often energize on standard or temporary authorisations and receive the major permit later; flagged only when the permit lands more than 6 months after first power or is missing for an on-site plant.
- Grid supply agreed 9 months before first power — Interconnection or large-load agreement approved. Observed median 7 months before first power; the physical works (substation, lines) run in parallel with construction.
- Substation and lines energized 2 months before first power — Utility delivery point live; final tests before the load is taken.
- New generation online 1 months before first power — Utility plant or on-site plant generating; needed just before energization when the grid cannot carry the load alone.
- Major equipment on site 6 months before first power — Turbines, transformers, switchgear delivered; installation and commissioning take the remaining months.
- Construction started 24 months before first power — Groundbreaking of the building that gives first power. Observed 4-26 months for recent AI campuses; Meta's redesigned campuses took 35-58.
- Building ready for IT 0 months before first power — First building ready for IT. 'Complete' or 'opened' is usually reported after first power; flagged only beyond 3 months.
- Full build-out complete -12 months before first power — All announced buildings operational. Comes after first power by design; context only.
- Water supply secured 12 months before first power — Water rights, municipal agreement or desalination contract in hand. Context only; one of the feasibility items.
- Financing closed 12 months before first power — Project financing, anchor lease or committed capital announced. Context only; not applicable when the owner is a hyperscaler building on its balance sheet.
Dated steps (from the sources; later dates are plans)
Power equipment (from permits, filings and reporting; blank cells were not disclosed)
| Category | Make / model | Units | MW | Status | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| solar | SB Energy | — | — | planned | 2028-12-31 | New on-site solar and battery storage by SB Energy to supply most of the 1.2 GW campus; sizes not disclosed; adjacent Orion Solar Belt 900 MWdc operating · ◐ |
Build-out timeline (Epoch AI; dated status notes with IT power; rows after today are estimates)
Recorded fact No public date for permits in hand, grid supply agreed, major equipment on site.
Calculated requirement Grid supply agreed must finish by 2026-01-28; no public date is on record for it. Under the current rule set the recorded dates plus their lead times give a first power no earlier than 2026-10-31 (on the target). This is a floor set by the record, not a forecast.
Sources (Epoch AI selection): Data Center Dynamics article on the site · SB Energy article, source for 1.2 GW capacity · TDLR page for the first building of the site, indicating construction completion date
Epoch AI, 'AI data centers', epoch.ai/data/ai-data-centers (CC BY 4.0); coordinates from GeoNames cities500 (CC BY 4.0) and hand-entered places; overrides in tools/project_overrides.csv with their own sources. Campuses outside the Epoch dataset come from tools/campuses.csv (public reporting, source per row). Data retrieved 2026-10-05. Report a correction to contact@ailoadmap.com (campus id openai-stargate-milam; include the row and a source link).