Data centers in Dickens County, Texas: 1 project mapped

Imagery: Esri, Maxar

Dickens County, a West Texas county of fewer than 2,000 people, is home to Galaxy Digital's Helios data center near Afton, one of the largest AI computing campuses in North America. Helios began in 2021 as Argo Blockchain's bitcoin mine; when Argo struggled in the 2022 crypto downturn, Galaxy Digital bought it for about $65 million and converted it to AI computing starting in 2025. CoreWeave, the AI cloud company whose customers include Microsoft, has now leased all 800 megawatts of the site's approved capacity in three phases; the first phase began generating rent in early 2026, and Phase II data halls are due in the first half of 2027.

In January 2026, ERCOT approved another 830 megawatts for the site, bringing its total approved capacity to 1.63 gigawatts across more than 2,200 acres; Galaxy says the campus could eventually reach 3.6 gigawatts. Instead of full property taxes, Dickens County agreed in July 2025 to a 10-year payment of $18.5 million plus $2 million for new housing from Galaxy, with the first $500,000 and the housing money due October 1, 2026. Commissioners have since approved similar abatements for two more phases, Helios II and III. "If we don't start creating the housing for them, they'll commute," County Judge Kevin Brendle said.

Helios is expected to add more than 100 permanent jobs, plus about 50 more from CoreWeave. Inside the original mining hall, temperatures can reach 130 degrees, and the plant has paused operations on hot afternoons when the Texas grid asked large users to cut back. The county's next payments, and the first of the abated taxes, are due October 1, 2026.

Every project above is drawn from public records, filings and local reporting. Each row links to what it is based on. Statuses change, so check the source date before you rely on one. Found something wrong? Write to [email protected] and it gets fixed.