Editor’s note: This information is part of our continuing coverage of the Fermi America AI hyper-grid campus and how it will utilize energy and water. Look for our additional team coverage later today!
Former Amarillo Mayor Trent Sisemore has been named Fermi America’s Community Lead for the ongoing AI hyper-grid project currently in development. Sisemore is a local entrepreneur who, along with his father, co-owned Jack Sisemore Traveland and served on Happy State Bank’s board of directors for 17 years. He served as an Amarillo City Commissioner from 1995 to 2001 and as mayor from 2001 to 2005.
In a press release making the announcement, Sisemore is quoted as saying, “I believe in this team and this project, as well as the significant opportunity and impact it will have for our region, the state of Texas, and the country as a whole.”
The announcement describes the Community Lead role as “the company’s boots-on-the-ground liaison, ensuring the community’s voice is heard at the highest levels of the company while engaging strategic partnerships that show Fermi’s commitment to stewarding the area as good neighbors.”
Sisemore said in the release that former Texas Governor and former Energy Secretary Rick Perry, a Fermi co-founder, called him to explain the project and asked him to serve in this capacity.
“Trent is a good man, with a world of respect, mine included,” Perry is quoted as saying.
“I’ve known him well for years, and the fact he’s willing to come and work with us here at Fermi is a well-earned stamp of approval for what we are building here,” Perry continued.
Sisemore served as commissioner and mayor as Amarillo experienced major development in business and infrastructure. During his tenure, Bell Helicopter’s V-22 final assembly operations facility was established in Amarillo, and the city purchased water rights intending to sustain the city for the next 300 years.
“This region has a skilled workforce that is ready to make this project a reality, and I look forward to doing my part by joining an exceptionally-talented and proven team working so hard to ensure the U.S. wins this global AI race,” Sisemore is quoted as saying.
Fermi America plans to deliver up to 11 gigawatts of highly-redundant power and 15 million square feet of artificial intelligence capacity, with the first gigawatt of natural gas power generation online by the end of 2026 and one GW per year, every year for a decade. The private grid campus spans 5,236 acres on sovereign Texas Tech University System land. Nuclear construction is slated to begin in 2027, with the first reactor online by 2032.
“Growing up in the region forged shared values that Trent exemplifies including the meaning of a handshake and being a good neighbor,” Fermi Co-founder and CEO, Toby Neugebauer said in the release. “Fermi America is going big places, but Trent will always remind us where we started, and for that and countless other reasons, I’m so thankful he’s on the team.”
