SB Energy, a SoftBank Group company, is building the first of two data center buildings on its Milam County campus near Burlington, Texas. An OpenAI affiliate leases the building and will run its own computing equipment in it.
Site History
- June 2025: Milam County creates a reinvestment zone for SB Energy's planned data center campus beside its Orion Solar Belt.
- September 2025: An SB Energy affiliate acquires the 606-acre site. OpenAI names Milam County one of five new Stargate sites.
- October 2025: Construction starts under the Freebird Data Center Phase 1 registration.
- January 2026: An OpenAI affiliate signs a 15-year lease for the building.
- March 2026: Steel framing and roofing are underway.
Project Profile
- Developer and owner: SB Energy, through Milam County DC, LLC
- Tenant: Orion DC I, LLC, an OpenAI affiliate, guaranteed by OpenAI Global, LLC
- Lease: 15-year triple-net term with two 10-year extensions
- Building: single story, about 548,950 sq ft, four data halls
- Builders: DPR Construction and Sundt Construction joint venture; Corgan, architect; M.C. Dean, systems integrator
- Cooling: primarily closed-loop, air-cooled
Utility
Oncor provides transmission and distribution in ERCOT. SB Energy's Orion I, II and III solar plants feed the campus behind the meter through a private use network, and Oncor provides auxiliary service.