Jul 30, 2026 | Posted by Abdul-Rahman Oladimeji
PowerPlay AI has unveiled plans for a 400MW behind-the-meter natural gas-powered AI data centre near Abilene, Texas, through a joint venture with neocloud provider Sharon AI. The companies said site planning and land acquisition have been completed, with work now focused on securing gas supply and an independent power producer. The project is targeting 400MW of capacity by 2028. PowerPlay AI is a newly established company with limited publicly available information.
PowerPlay AI has disclosed only one executive, CEO Luke Velterop. Based in the US, the Australian executive has a background in junior energy and hydrogen exploration rather than data centres or power generation. He also leads Australian exploration firm Top End Energy, which is developing natural hydrogen and gas projects, including one in Kansas.
"Demand is accelerating faster than the grid can respond, interconnection queues now stretch into the 2030s, and competition for sites that can deliver scalable power at speed has never been greater. At the same time, federal policy is calling on industry to 'build, bring or buy' the energy this demand requires," said Velterop. "Against that backdrop, PowerPlay AI is advancing a strategically positioned development where pipelines, policy and people converge to drive rapid execution. Together with our joint venture partner, we're combining a power-first strategy with world-class AI infrastructure expertise to deliver the next wave of energized AI compute at speed."
Sharon AI is an Australian neocloud company founded in 2024 that develops AI data centres and HPC platforms. It recently signed a $950 million cloud agreement with an undisclosed technology company and a $1.25 billion capacity deal with ESDS Software Solutions. Earlier this year, the company withdrew from a proposed behind-the-meter data centre project with Texas Critical Data Centers (TCDC).
