SAN FRANCISCO — OpenAI said Tuesday it will fund the power infrastructure needed for its OpenAI Stargate AI data center campuses, aiming to keep the project’s growing electricity demand from pushing costs onto nearby residents and small businesses. The company said the move, detailed in a new Stargate Community plan, will be tailored by site — from new dedicated power and storage to upgrades in generation and transmission — shaped by local feedback, Jan. 21, 2026.
The pledge comes as utilities and regulators weigh how to serve fast-growing data center demand without spreading the costs across everyone’s monthly bill.
How OpenAI Stargate plans to “pay its way” on power
In its Stargate Community plan, OpenAI said it will “pay our own way on energy” so its operations “don’t increase your electricity prices.” OpenAI said community input and local grid conditions will drive what gets built and who pays for it.
Reuters described the site-by-site strategy as OpenAI’s answer to concerns that large AI data centers could strain local utilities and trigger rate hikes.
OpenAI said its first OpenAI Stargate site in Abilene, Texas, is already training and serving frontier AI systems, with additional campuses under development across Texas, New Mexico, Wisconsin and Michigan.
Why energy costs are now the battleground
Power has become a limiting factor for AI expansion. A U.S. Department of Energy summary of its 2024 Berkeley Lab analysis said data center load growth has tripled over the past decade and is projected to double or triple by 2028, a pace that can require new wires, transformers and generation.
A separate review by Pew found U.S. data centers used an estimated 183 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2024 — more than 4% of national consumption — and projects sharp growth through 2030, adding pressure to protect ratepayers from the cost of grid upgrades.
OpenAI Stargate, from supercomputer rumor to $500 billion buildout
The “Stargate” name first surfaced publicly as a supercomputer-scale data center concept. In March 2024, Reuters reported talks between Microsoft and OpenAI about a project that could cost as much as $100 billion and include an AI supercomputer dubbed “Stargate.”
By January 2025, Trump announced a private-sector push led by OpenAI, SoftBank and Oracle that he said could reach $500 billion over four years, with early construction already underway in Texas.
OpenAI has also described Stargate as a new company that intends to invest $500 billion in U.S. AI infrastructure and listed SoftBank, OpenAI, Oracle and MGX as initial equity funders.
States spent much of 2025 courting the facilities and weighing tradeoffs such as tax incentives, power and water demand, The Washington Post reported.
What to watch next
For local communities, OpenAI Stargate’s “pay its way” promise will be tested in utility filings, interconnection agreements and the pace at which new generation and transmission can come online. For OpenAI Stargate, the message is also strategic: lowering local pushback could shorten permitting timelines and reduce the risk that power constraints slow the buildout.
SAN FRANCISCO — OpenAI said Tuesday it will fund the power infrastructure needed for its OpenAI Stargate AI data center campuses, aiming to keep the project’s growing electricity demand from pushing costs onto nearby residents and small businesses. The company said the move, detailed in a new Stargate Community plan, will be tailored by site — from new dedicated power and storage to upgrades in generation and transmission — shaped by local feedback, Jan. 21, 2026.
The pledge comes as utilities and regulators weigh how to serve fast-growing data center demand without spreading the costs across everyone’s monthly bill.
