NUAI Lands a 20-Year Power Deal With Vistra for Its Texas Data Center — But Can a Five-Employee Company Build a Gigawatt Dream?
Shares of New Era Energy & Digital surged 24.6% to $7.30 Monday morning after the company announced a 20-year power purchase agreement with Luminant, an affiliate of energy giant Vistra Corp., locking in up to 207 MW of contracted electricity for Phase 1 of its Texas data center project. The power will come from Vistra's 1,180 MW natural gas-fired facility in Odessa, Texas, located right next to the project site.
Power delivery is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2027. For a stock that traded below $0.60 a year ago, the deal is the most tangible validation yet that New Era's ambitions are more than slideware — but enormous execution risks remain.
• A Big-Name Partner Lends Credibility, but Comes at a Price. Following commencement of power delivery, Vistra will receive a 5% non-voting interest in the portion of the data center project it powers.
The framework agreement also grants Vistra a right of first refusal on future development at the site and a right of first offer on certain other New Era projects. That means New Era traded away a slice of ownership and future flexibility to secure the deal — a rational concession for a company that needs to prove itself, but one that could limit upside if the project succeeds at scale.
• 207 MW Is Just the Opening Act of a Much Bigger Bet. New Era's flagship site is a 493-acre campus in the Permian Basin, with anticipated capacity scaling to 1.4 GW over time.
Combined Phases 1 and 2 alone would total roughly 757 MW, with Phase 2 capacity recently increased to 550 MW. Covering the remaining 550 MW with firm power contracts will be a separate, complex undertaking.
• The Balance Sheet Is Thin for the Task Ahead. As of June 30, 2026, New Era had $84.8 million in cash and restricted cash, plus $270 million undrawn under a Macquarie credit facility.
Last quarter, the company posted a net loss of $20.4 million , and full-year fiscal 2025 revenue was just $885,000. Building out even 207 MW of data center capacity typically costs hundreds of millions of dollars. Investors are buying a vision, not cash flow.
• The Stock Has Run Far on Promise Alone. With roughly 106.6 million shares outstanding , today's price implies a market value nearing $780 million — for a company with just five employees.
Institutional interest is building: BlackRock added over 6.4 million shares in Q2, and State Street increased its position by more than 2,000%. Smart money is placing early bets, but the contract produces no revenue until at least mid-2027, and the path from land and permits to a functioning, tenant-occupied data center is long and capital-intensive.