Fermi Files for 5 GW Expansion, Targeting 17 GW Total Capacity
On March 27, 2026, Fermi America (NASDAQ: FRMI) advanced its plan to build the world's largest private power grid by filing a new Clean Air Permit application for 5 gigawatts (GW) of power with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). This move follows the initial approval of a 6 GW permit on February 25, 2025, and brings the total planned capacity for its "Project Matador" to approximately 17 GW. The ambitious project in Amarillo, Texas, is designed with a diversified energy mix, targeting 11 GW from clean natural gas and an additional 4.4 GW from nuclear, solar, and battery storage sources.
Project Matador Secures Over $865M in Equipment Financing
Underpinning its expansion goals, Fermi has rapidly secured significant capital, accumulating over $865 million in equipment financing in early 2026. The latest transaction, announced on March 27, is a $165 million senior secured loan from CSG Investments to fund the purchase of six Siemens Energy gas turbines scheduled for delivery in 2028. This follows two larger deals closed in February 2026: a $500 million facility from MUFG Bank and a roughly $200 million facility from Keystone National Group. Despite the aggressive expansion and financing milestones, Fermi's shares traded down 4.9% to $6.02 in London on Friday morning, March 27.
Private Grid Aims to Solve AI's Surging Power Demand
Fermi's strategy directly targets the explosive energy consumption of the artificial intelligence and advanced computing industries. The company's private "HyperGrid" is engineered to provide the power certainty and scale that it argues the public grid cannot currently offer to hyperscale clients. The project's long-term backbone includes advanced nuclear power, with plans for four AP1000 reactors and a goal to have the first unit operational by 2032.
America's hyperscalers need power certainty at a scale that the grid simply can't accommodate at this time.
— Toby Neugbauer, Co-founder and CEO of Fermi America.
