Overview
- The Army, which announced the picks Thursday, opened exclusive talks under its Enhanced Use Lease program and stressed the deals are not final.
- Carlyle would build at Fort Bliss in Texas and CyrusOne at Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, with each company financing, running, and later decommissioning the sites at no upfront cost to taxpayers.
- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will lead lease negotiations and conduct the technical and environmental reviews that guide next steps, in line with a 2025 White House push to speed data center permitting.
- Initial operations are planned for fiscal 2027 at Fort Bliss and 2029 at Dugway, with reporting describing a 2.5–3 gigawatt build in Texas using on-site power and a closed water system and roughly 1 gigawatt in Utah.
- Outside reports estimate about $2 billion per site under long-term leases with the Army taking a share of capacity, and local officials expect roughly 2,000 jobs in El Paso if the Fort Bliss plan advances.