Marking their first investment in a $50 billion joint venture campaign announced last year, Energy Capital Partners and KKR said Friday they are investing $4 billion into the development of a data center campus in Bosque County, about 75 miles southwest of Fort Worth.
The deal involves a joint venture between ECP and CyrusOne, one of the world’s largest data center operators, now jointly owned by KKR and GIP, a portfolio company of BlackRock. The companies say the deal will serve as a blueprint for future ventures under the $50 billion agreement announced in October 2024.
The data center campus will be one of the most ambitious AI infrastructure builds in the fast-growing Dallas-Fort Worth data corridor and will initially include more than 700,000 square feet with an IT capacity of 144 megawatts — all designed for rapid expansion with a total investment of around $4 billion.
The campus will be located adjacent to the Calpine Corp Thad Hill Energy Center, the 265th highest rated power plant in the nation (of 12,312) and the 22nd highest rated of 312 natural gas power plants in Texas in terms of annual net electricity generation. Calpine is under a long-term contract to supply the data center.
According to the companies’ release, the campus will feature climate-neutral initiatives for biodiversity, water conservation and ERCOT grid emergencies. The site is expected to be operational by late 2026.
Kirkland & Ellis advised KKR and GIP on the CyrusOne joint venture, as well as the JV’s long-term power agreement with Calpine Corp.
The Kirkland team was led from Dallas and Houston with partners Melissa Kalka (Dallas), John Pitts (Houston), Daley King (Dallas) and Allan Kirk (Houston). The team also included Mary Kogut (Houston) Kim McGrath (Chicago), Cody Sonntag (Los Angeles), Andrew Stuyvenberg (Washington, D.C.), Stephen Butler (Austin), Erin Bartlett (Washington, D.C.) and Cassidy Hall (Washington, D.C.).