The Daily Dig
Aligned Data Centers has broken ground on Project Caprock, a 540 MW campus spanning 313 acres outside Abernathy in Hale County, Texas. At full build-out, the site will total 1.65 million square feet across six facilities, with the first building, LBB-01, targeting a Q1 2027 service date.
Aligned projects the campus will infuse $5 billion into the regional economy. The multi-year build-out is expected to generate thousands of construction jobs and localized vendor contracts, with permanent, high-skill technology jobs and long-term commercial tax revenue following once the campus is operational.
Ryan Companies is serving as general contractor on the mission critical side. Aligned is also building and funding the dedicated electrical infrastructure for the campus to protect local ratepayers, with Xcel Energy as the utility partner.
The campus will run on Aligned's proprietary DeltaFlow liquid cooling technology, paired with a closed-loop air-cooled heat rejection system. That closed-loop design recirculates water internally, keeping the campus from competing with the Ogallala Aquifer, the region's primary groundwater source and a critical resource for local agricultural and residential water needs.
Aligned has also committed to building a workforce pipeline through its Aligned Academy initiative, partnering with local educational institutions on careers in high-tech and mission critical infrastructure.
Snapshot:
Project Name: Project Caprock
Developer/Operator: Aligned Data Centers
General Contractor: Ryan Companies (Mission Critical)
Utility Partner: Xcel Energy
Location: Hale County, near Abernathy, Texas
Region: Northwest Texas
Sector: Mission Critical / Data Center
Campus Size: 313 acres
Total Capacity: 1.65 million square feet
Number of Facilities: 6
Total Power Capacity: 540 MW
First Building: LBB-01
Anticipated Service Date (LBB-01): Q1 2027
Projected Regional Economic Impact: $5 billion
Cooling Technology: Aligned DeltaFlow liquid cooling with closed-loop air-cooled heat rejection
Water Strategy: Closed-loop recirculation; no draw on the Ogallala Aquifer
Workforce (Construction): Thousands of jobs over multi-year build-out
Workforce (Permanent): High-skill technology jobs post-opening
Community Programs: Aligned Academy workforce pipeline with local educational institutions
Status: Groundbreaking completed; development underway
TheJobWalk Thoughts
Ryan Companies winning the GC role here is worth paying attention to. Mission critical is one of the most contractor-selective sectors in construction. Landing a six-building, 540 MW campus puts Ryan in a strong position for follow-on work as Aligned continues expanding across Maryland, Ohio, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
The closed-loop water strategy matters beyond sustainability optics. In a region where water rights and agricultural demand are real friction points for large industrial development, removing that conflict entirely was almost certainly a condition of community support and likely cleared a path that would have otherwise slowed permitting considerably.
Courtesy of Aligned Data Centers
Courtesy of Aligned Data Centers
