Fermi America announced that NAES Corporation will operate and maintain the natural‑gas turbine fleet at Project Matador, bringing the Texas development closer to its first power generation.

Under the agreement, Fermi retains ownership of the generation assets while NAES will set up operating procedures, work‑management systems and maintenance programmes before the turbines start service.

NAES will also provide trained crews, oversee site safety and support environmental compliance once the natural‑gas units are online.

The deal follows a series of construction milestones, including the arrival of the first Siemens Energy SGT6-5000F turbines at the site and the signing of the project’s first customer, AI cloud provider TensorWave.

Project Matador occupies roughly 8,400 acres in Carson County and is being built as an 11‑GW private‑grid and AI infrastructure campus, with long‑term potential to expand to about 17 GW.

Site preparation as of June 30, 2026 includes 4.6 miles of natural‑gas pipelines, 7.2 miles of water lines and 11.3 miles of perimeter fencing, covering roughly 300 acres ready for development.

The first turbine group consists of six Siemens SGT‑800 units, with a second phase adding three Siemens SGT6‑5000F units; engineering and balance‑of‑plant work is being handled by Primoris and TSK respectively.

TensorWave’s binding agreement secures 222 MW of capacity and about $6.5 billion in revenue over 15 years, with options to expand the contract to roughly 650 MW.

The NAES contract is described as an operational‑readiness step rather than a declaration that the entire campus has reached commercial operation.