Fermi's Project Matador: Non-Binding 600 MW LOI, AP1000 Target Now 2034

That changes the picture from our Nov. 13 news story, which rested on Fermi's earnings release. The release described a $200 million prepayment; the 10-Q makes clear that the lease behind it is not signed, and that Fermi has no definitive lease with any tenant. For a data center buyer, Matador today is powered land on offer, backed by gas turbines Fermi has bought or contracted for, with nuclear power a 2034 target.

The site and the power plan

Project Matador sits in Carson County, Texas, in the Panhandle near Amarillo, on about 5,236 acres held or to be held under a 99-year ground lease with the Texas Tech University System (TTU). Fermi says the campus is designed to deliver up to about 11 GW of predominantly private-grid power to AI data centers, with generation capacity expandable to up to about 17 GW, subject to pending land closings and further air permits from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). Both are plans for the whole site, not operating capacity.

Near-term supply is gas plus the utility. Fermi expects the first 1 GW of load to burn about 175,000 MMBtu of gas a day after roughly 200 MW of grid power from Southwestern Public Service, the Xcel Energy utility. The filing lists Siemens SGT-800 and SGT6-5000F turbines among its equipment. Separately, under an Aug. 11, 2026 framework agreement with a build-own-operate-transfer structure, Hillcore Energy Capital intends to finance, build, own and operate a gas-fired, solar and battery facility of up to about 2.6 GW, including about 100 MW of solar and batteries, on about 400 acres. Hillcore is to use reasonable commercial efforts on an initial block of about 360 MW, with Fermi buying the output under power purchase agreements (PPAs). A framework agreement is an intention, not a construction contract.

The nuclear part is four AP1000 units, each a large pressurized-water reactor rather than a small modular design. That is the key point for timing: an AP1000 is a full-size plant, so it needs a combined licence from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and years of construction before it delivers any MWe. Hyundai Engineering & Construction finished a front-end engineering design study for the nuclear component in July 2026; the 10-Q says the study provided preliminary cost and schedule estimates but does not give them.

The LOI, the Prepayment and the Money

On Nov. 10, 2026, Fermi signed the letter of intent with an investment-grade hyperscaler, which the filing calls the IG Tenant, for about 600 MW of powered land. It is subject to definitive documentation. Alongside it, the parties signed a $200 million prepayment agreement and a $15 million early construction and site development agreement. The 10-Q's risk factors say Fermi may not sign a definitive lease with the IG Tenant, or may sign one on different terms.

Fermi has not named the customer. The Financial Times reported on Nov. 13 that it is Amazon; neither Fermi nor Amazon has confirmed that report. In December 2025, after a different prospective tenant ended an agreement that could have provided up to $150 million in advance funding, Fermi categorically denied a Business Insider report that the tenant was Amazon, Reuters reported.

The same day as the letter of intent, Fermi's build-to-suit lease with TensorWave, signed Aug. 9, 2026, ended after its closing date passed without extension. Fermi estimates $2 billion to $3 billion of capital spending over the next twelve months, subject to signing definitive leases. The filing says conditions raised substantial doubt about Fermi's ability to continue as a going concern, and that management concluded its plans alleviate that doubt.

Licensing and timeline

A March 20, 2026 NRC Federal Register notice announced the NRC's intent to conduct scoping and prepare an environmental impact statement for Fermi America's combined licence (COL) application for four AP1000 units, Project Matador Nuclear Units 1 to 4. In July 2026 the NRC acknowledged Fermi's applicant-prepared draft environmental impact statement (EIS) under its pilot program, and Fermi says Matador was the first project to complete those steps. According to the 10-Q, the NRC published a Federal Register notice on Oct. 9, 2026 announcing the draft EIS, with public comments open through Nov. 23, 2026. A draft EIS is not a licence; the safety review and the licence decision are still ahead.

Fermi's plan now targets one AP1000 commissioned in each of 2034, 2035, 2036 and 2037. The first unit is about one year later than Fermi previously disclosed; it expects the others on their original schedule. These are company targets, subject to licensing, engineering, procurement and construction.

A combined licence is the NRC permit to build and operate a reactor; the environmental impact statement assesses the plants' environmental effects, and the safety review is a separate track that must also finish before a licence decision. The NRC has issued no decision on Fermi's application, so for a data center buyer no nuclear megawatt at Matador is firm until a licence is granted and construction is complete.

What it means for data centers

The deadlines link the tenant to the land. TTU's notice to proceed, required before vertical construction, depends on Fermi signing a Phase 1 tenant lease of at least 200 MW. That condition is not met, and Fermi says it is discussing an extension with TTU. If TTU ends the lease, Fermi would lose its rights to the site that holds substantially all its assets.

The financing test comes next. Under Fermi's turbine credit facility, an event of default occurs if Fermi has not closed fully committed financing for phase one, enough with equity to fund at least 400 MW of generation, by Feb. 10, 2027. An Oct. 9 amendment eliminated a condition tied to a 400 MW lease or offtake agreement by Nov. 10, 2026, which would have raised minimum quarterly principal payments and let the lender's agent begin marketing the financed equipment. The Feb. 10, 2027 financing requirement stays in effect. For a buyer, that suggests the first power at Matador is gas, and that its timing depends on a lease that has not been signed.

What to watch

Nov. 23, 2026: the NRC draft EIS comment period closes. Dec. 31, 2026: TTU's notice-to-proceed deadline, unless Fermi wins an extension or signs a Phase 1 lease of at least 200 MW. Feb. 10, 2027: the deadline for committed phase-one financing for at least 400 MW of generation. Any time: a definitive lease with the IG Tenant, which would show whether the 600 MW and the $200 million prepayment hold. Then the NRC's final EIS and safety review schedule, and the 2034 target for the first AP1000.