New Era Energy & Digital, Inc. (Nasdaq: NUAI) (“New Era,” or the “Company”), a developer and operator of next-generation digital infrastructure and integrated power assets, today announced the commencement of Phase Two engineering for Texas Critical Data Centers LLC (“TCDC”), its flagship data center and power development project located in West Texas. In addition, on October 3, 2025, the Company filed a Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission providing an update on its financial status.

Phase Two Engineering Underway

New Era recently announced the completion of Phase One engineering for the TCDC project [read here], its joint venture with Sharon AI Inc. TCDC has now advanced into Phase Two engineering, focusing on detailed site planning, site clearing, and infrastructure integration for the data center campus. TCDC is collecting bids for site clearing, with work expected to begin within the next 60 days.

TCDC also highlighted significant progress on obtaining air permits. The data center site is located in an air-quality attainment zone, a positive factor differentiating it from other data center projects. TCDC is pursuing a minor source air permit, a streamlined process that allows up to 250 tons of emissions per year and can typically be approved within 90 days. By comparison, a major source air permit under current air emission standards can take 18 months or longer. TCDC believes its flexibility to develop multiple power islands under minor source air permitting standards provides another key competitive advantage, setting its data center campus apart from other developments.

Land Expansion

TCDC plans to close on the acquisition of the additional 203 acres previously announced within 60–90 days, expanding the site to 438 contiguous acres and further strengthening its land position for long-term scalability. With this land expansion, TCDC’s West Texas data center campus is now being designed to ultimately scale to 1 GW or above, supporting the surging demand for AI and GPU-driven digital infrastructure.

Project Timeline

Additional near-term milestones include expanding behind-the-meter power capacity and submitting a large-load interconnection application. In 2026, the focus will shift to starting construction of behind-the-meter power, and commencing initial data center construction, with capacity expansion planned to begin in 2027 to meet demand.

Regulatory Filing: 8-K

On October 3, 2025, New Era filed a Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing is available on the SEC's website at sec.gov and further describes the retirement of its outstanding convertible notes while also accessing its existing equity line of credit.

E. Will Gray II, CEO of New Era Energy & Digital, commented: “We are making tangible progress across all fronts including engineering, permitting, regulatory filings, and land expansion. Additionally, our financial status update located within the October 3rd 8-K reflects the Company’s continued commitment to transparency and disciplined execution as we advance Phase Two of the TCDC project. I would also like to thank our significant investor who supported the Company during the de-SPAC process through convertible notes, the remaining balance of which management strategically converted during periods of higher trading volume in conjunction with an equity line of credit. These notes are now fully satisfied, strengthening our balance sheet and providing the cash reserves needed to advance through Phase Two and beyond. With the additional 203 acres, we now have the capacity to scale TCDC to 1 gigawatt, positioning New Era at the forefront of AI-powered infrastructure.”

About New Era Energy & Digital, Inc.

New Era Energy & Digital, Inc. (Nasdaq: NUAI) is a developer and operator of next-generation digital infrastructure and integrated power assets. With a growing portfolio of strategically located, vertically integrated resources including powered land and powered shells, the Company delivers turnkey solutions that enable hyperscale, enterprise, and edge operators to accelerate data center deployment, optimize total cost of ownership, and future-proof its infrastructure investments. For more information, visit: www.newerainfra.ai, and follow New Era Energy & Digital on LinkedIn and X.

About Texas Critical Data Centers (TCDC)

Texas Critical Data Centers (TCDC) is a 50/50 joint venture between New Era Helium, Inc. and Sharon AI, Inc., established in 2024 to develop next-generation AI and high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure in the Permian Basin. TCDC’s flagship project is a data center campus, with the capacity to scale to 1GW, in Ector County, Texas, and purpose-built to meet surging demand for AI and cloud GPU workloads. The site expects to feature advanced natural gas power generation, liquid cooling systems, and the potential for carbon capture integration, delivering scalable, energy-efficient compute capacity. For more information, visit www.texascriticaldatacenters.com.

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