OpenAI Stargate Shackelford · Shackelford County, TX
Last change recorded 2026-10-04 · Last checked 2026-10-04
Latest: Build-out complete (Epoch estimate) · Full build-out complete · 2028-11-11 (plan) · recorded 2026-10-04
Vantage Frontier, Shackelford County: ten buildings, 3.7 million sq ft, $25bn+. TCEQ approved by emissions registration a VoltaGrid fleet of 210 gas generators (700 MW, 197 primary and 13 backup) for the on-site microgrid. TDLR filings put the construction window at 2025-09-26 to 2028-05-11; groundbreaking December 2025; first delivery announced for H2 2026, Epoch now estimates first power in August 2027. · source ○ tertiary, confidence medium
Recorded readiness — 3 of 6 applicable milestones have a dated public record
Gate to first power — target 2026-12-01 (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) | 2025-09-01 (15 mo before) | 13 mo before (n=26) | 2025-08-01 | context | Campus announced · ◐ | |
| Permits in hand | 2026-12-01 (0 mo before) | 4 mo after (n=8) | 2025-11-15 | on record in time | TCEQ air authorization for 210 VoltaGrid generators (700 MW) by emissions registration · ○ | |
| Grid supply agreed | 2026-03-01 (9 mo before) | 7 mo before (n=11) | no public date | no public date · would need to be done by 2026-03-01 | No date on record | |
| New generation online | 2026-11-01 (1 mo before) | 12 mo after (n=1) | 2026-12-01 plan | plan inside the deadline | On-site microgrid first block (announced) · ◐ | |
| Major equipment on site | 2026-06-01 (6 mo before) | 9 mo after (n=1) | no public date | no public date · would need to be done by 2026-06-01 | No date on record | |
| Construction started (context) | 2024-12-01 (24 mo before) | 29 mo before (n=15) | 2025-12-15 | context | Groundbreaking (December 2025; TDLR window from 2025-09-26) · ○ | |
| Building ready for IT | 2026-12-01 (0 mo before) | 2 mo after (n=7) | no public date | no public date · would need to be done by 2026-12-01 | No date on record | |
| Full build-out complete (context) | 2027-12-01 (-12 mo before) | — | 2028-05-11 plan | context | TDLR construction window ends (all buildings) · ○ |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| gas reciprocating engine | INNIO Jenbacher | 210 × 3.3 MW | 700 MW | permitted | 2025-11-15 | VoltaGrid microgrid: 197 primary and 13 backup units authorised by TCEQ emissions registration · ○ |
Build-out timeline (Epoch AI; dated status notes with IT power; rows after today are estimates)
Recorded fact No public date for grid supply agreed, major equipment on site, building ready for it.
Calculated requirement Grid supply agreed must finish by 2026-03-01; 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 2027-01-01 (1 mo after the announced target). This is a floor set by the record, not a forecast.
Sources (Epoch AI selection): Vantage data center page with power capacity, number of buildings, and first building timeline · OpenAI Stargate expansion announcement mentioning Shackelford site · Vantage LinkedIn post connecting the data center to OpenAI Stargate · TDLR filing for first building (other buildings are also on TDLR)
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-shackelford; include the row and a source link).