Oracle and OpenAI
Lancium Clean Campus, Stargate Site 1
tax abatement, signed, signed 2025-03-17
Operator: Oracle and OpenAI (Stargate); Crusoe builds and operates the campus
Developer: Lancium LLC (landowner) with Abilene DC 1 through 8 LLC (Crusoe entities) as lessees
Scale: 1,200 MW · 941 acres · 4,000,000 sq ft · 3,400,000,000 USD
Acreage is the reinvestment zone: the nine tracts in Exhibit A total about 941 acres, matching the recital. The campus itself is reported at 1,100 acres. Eight buildings of about 4 million sq ft and 1.2 GW per Crusoe. The agreement floor is $350 million of capital investment per Facility across seven leased parcels, with a stated target of as much as $500 million each; the Development Corporation of Abilene cited an initial $3.4 billion investment. Taylor County has a parallel agreement reported at 80 percent; the county resolution approving it was read, the county agreements themselves were not.
Verification: read from the signed document
A strong version: A fund that scales with the project, with a community seat on the body that spends it
Not addressed in the agreement.
No community fund in either agreement. Crusoe says its investments have funded new fire trucks, school expansions, and road improvements; those are voluntary and appear nowhere in the documents.
Softening languageThe community spending the developer cites is voluntary and unquantified in the documents.
A strong version: Incentives come back if the facility stops operating, not only if a jobs number is missed
triggers: investment, jobs, other · proportional: no
Default includes failure to commence or complete construction, delinquent ad valorem taxes, bankruptcy or insolvency, or breach of any term, with a 30-day cure that extends while the party diligently pursues a fix. On termination the city recaptures all taxes that would have been paid without the abatement, plus interest at the statutory delinquent-tax rate, as liquidated damages secured by a tax lien and due within 30 days. Recapture is all-or-nothing for the defaulting parcel and the agreement states there are no cross-defaults between parties or phases. A jobs shortfall ends that facility's abatement rather than triggering recapture, and a force majeure shortfall against the $350 million floor is not a default. Nothing is tied to the facility ceasing operation after completion.
A strong version: A bond, escrow, or letter of credit that pays for teardown and site restoration if the operator walks
Not addressed in the agreement.
instrument: none
No decommissioning term of any kind. A full-text search of both agreements returns no occurrence of decommission.
A strong version: The operator pays for its own interconnection and carries a minimum bill that survives it leaving
Not addressed in the agreement.
interconnect paid by: unknown · governed by: Texas SB 6 (2025) large-load interconnection rules; the PUCT published draft rule 16 TAC 25.194 on March 12, 2026
The agreements are silent on grid cost, and a full-text search of both returns no occurrence of interconnect. Lancium builds the substation and other electrical infrastructure on its own land, which the agreement defines as the Improvements. The campus also runs a 360 MW on-site gas plant and 62 diesel generators, with 41 more turbines and 18 more generators proposed, and the generation plant itself is abated under a December 2025 agreement approved by Resolution 249-2025.
A strong version: A stated cap or closed-loop cooling, plus public reporting
Not addressed in the agreement.
reporting: no · cooling: closed loop
No water terms in either abatement agreement. A full-text search returns water only inside the force majeure list and in an exhibit listing water and sewer tap fees as capital-investment categories. The mayor has said the facilities will use less than 1 percent of Abilene's daily water consumption. Crusoe describes direct-to-chip liquid cooling with a zero-water evaporation system that recirculates through a closed loop. No separate water agreement was located.
A strong version: A numeric limit measured at the nearest residence or property line
No noise term. A full-text search of both agreements returns no occurrence of noise or sound. Some homes and buildings sit within half a mile of the turbines.
A strong version: Binding job commitments with a consequence, not projections
permanent: 357 · construction: 9000 · local hire: no · prevailing wage: no · enforceable: yes
57 full-time equivalent positions at Leased Parcel 1/2 by December 31, 2026 and 50 at each of the six remaining leased parcels, 357 in total, which may be filled by the lessee's contractors, tenants, or subtenants. The average wage across those positions must be at least $57,600 a year excluding benefits, or at least $72,000 a year including benefits. Compliance is self-certified each February 1 with quarterly IRS 941 returns or Texas Workforce Commission employer quarterly reports. Missing the number ends that facility's abatement only. City abatement policy asks only for reasonable efforts to hire city residents. The 9,000 figure is the press-reported count of craft workers on site each day, not a contractual commitment.
Softening languageCity policy asks only for "reasonable efforts" to hire residents, and the required jobs may be filled by contractors, tenants, or subtenants rather than the operator.
A strong version: Local subcontracting goals and haul-route road repair paid by the operator
local subcontracting: no
Contracts must be separated so that incorporated materials carry city sales tax, which is a revenue term rather than a local-hire term. The city waives applicable building permit fees and agrees to act on permit requests within 45 days. No road repair or local subcontracting requirement.
A strong version: No NDA, the agreement is public, and an independent audit on a schedule
agreement public: yes · dashboard: no · audit: annual · independent: no
All agreements, resolutions, and ordinances are posted on the city website. Compliance is self-certified in filings each May 1 and February 1, with a city right of access for inspection and no independent audit. No NDA was found; none is confirmed either way.
A strong version: A but-for test before any abatement, with the forgone revenue stated
abatement: 85% · years: 10 · PILOT: no
City abates 85 percent of taxable value above the 2024 base year for ten consecutive years per facility, and a companion agreement gives the same 85 percent on later-added improvements and equipment while excluding anything already abated, so no property is abated more than ten years in total. Taylor County's parallel agreement is reported at 80 percent for ten years. Abilene ISD abates nothing and receives 100 percent of taxable value. The county expects about $18 million a year once all eight buildings are occupied. Oracle protested Taylor County's roughly $200 million 2025 appraisal of the site after receiving the abatement. No formal but-for analysis was located.
Rents doubled and tripled across the area during construction, with residents reporting displacement. source
The on-site turbines and diesel generators are permitted for more than 1.6 million tons of greenhouse gases a year and roughly 1,000 tons of other pollutants, with an expansion sought. source
Oracle protested its property appraisal after receiving an 85 percent abatement, with an estimated $3 million a year at stake for the county. source