--- title: "Fermi bets its stalled campus on three refurbished New Jersey turbines" description: "The Amarillo developer has $62.5 million of cash, a going-concern note and an unsigned tenant lease, and it is buying cheap used megawatts to fill the gap. Earnings on November 12 will show whether the construction lender exists." publisher: "The Inference" section: "Data Center" published: 2026-11-10T19:11:08.059Z modified: 2026-11-10T19:11:08.059Z canonical: https://theinference.org/article/fermi-bets-its-stalled-campus-on-three-refurbished-new-jersey-turbines language: en keywords: "Fermi, Data Centers, Gas Turbines, Project Matador, Earnings" --- # Fermi bets its stalled campus on three refurbished New Jersey turbines > The Amarillo developer has $62.5 million of cash, a going-concern note and an unsigned tenant lease, and it is buying cheap used megawatts to fill the gap. Earnings on November 12 will show whether the construction lender exists. [Fermi America](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/fermi-inc) is powering its stalled Texas campus the way a company with $62.5 million of cash and a going-concern evaluation buys time: with other people's retired machines [1]. The developer of the Project Matador campus near Amarillo has bought three gas turbines from a former New Jersey heavy-manufacturing plant, refurbished them and nicknamed them the Jersey Boys, good for 114 MW in simple-cycle running [1]. That is the trade in one deal: cheap megawatts now, and the maintenance risk lands on the shareholders [1]. ## The equipment market forced this The AI buildout's binding constraint has moved from chips to power equipment. [Global gas-turbine orders exceed 100 GW](https://finance.yahoo.com/energy/articles/data-center-developers-dusting-off-144938559.html) against annual manufacturing capacity of 60 to 70 GW, US delivery times average six years, and an order placed today arrives in 2030 or 2031 [1]. So developers raid the second-hand market: [xAI](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/xai) has installed eight converted jet-engine turbines at its Colossus 2 complex in Memphis [1]. Used machines run $1.5 to $1.7 million per megawatt against $2 to $2.5 million for new [1]. *Chart: **Used megawatts are the cheap option when new turbines are sold out for six years** Bars comparing cost per megawatt for refurbished, used and new gas turbines, with ranges on the used and new figures.* *Typical cost per megawatt of generating capacity, millions of dollars; ranges as reported. Source: Yahoo Finance/Moby, 9 Nov 2026 [1]. [1]* ## Cheap megawatts, expensive time Refurbished machines cost around $1.3 million per megawatt, but the discount buys schedule, not reliability: uncertain maintenance histories, shorter lives, more repairs [1]. For Fermi the harder constraint is that its only tenant lease, with the neocloud TensorWave, becomes effective only once project-level financing is secured, and [the October 31 closing date passed with conditions unmet](https://www.idcnova.com/news/Fermi-Says-Data-Center-Lease-With-TensorWave-Remains-Committed-Despite-Missed-Closing-Date) [5]. Both companies say they remain committed, and chief executive Lee McIntire promises more on the earnings call [5]. [A trade report](https://fourweekmba.com/ai-fermi-paid-25m-to-drop-a-400-mw-lease-deadline-on-its-loan/) also says Fermi paid $25 million to drop a 400 MW lease deadline from its loan documents [4]; that payment has not been confirmed in the company's own filings this week. The backdrop is uglier still: the stock has fallen 94% since the IPO, the ousted co-founder Toby Neugebauer is suing, and the 10-Q discloses a dry lease on his private jet [3]. ## Thursday decides it Fermi [reports third-quarter results on November 12](https://www.enterprisenews.com/press-release/story/175756/fermi-announces-third-quarter-2026-earnings-release-and-call-date/) [7], and [options imply a move of about 19%](https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/fermi-inc-stock-may-move-19-on-earnings-report-next-week-93CH-5005098) [6]. The name to listen for is the construction lender for the TensorWave lease. Our October piece argued that Fermi's cash could not fund the four reactors it promised; the turbines and the waiver report are what is new since, and the reactors remain unfunded. Buying used megawatts is a legitimate move for a builder closing the power gap, and the developers who do it fastest deserve the reward. But cheap megawatts buy time, not a lender. If Thursday produces a bank, the Jersey Boys are a bridge to revenue. If it does not, they are three refurbished machines at a campus running on the cash it reported at midyear [2]. ## Takeaway Fermi's three refurbished New Jersey turbines are a legitimate way to close a power gap in a sold-out turbine market, but they buy time, not financing: everything turns on whether a construction lender for the TensorWave lease shows up at the November 12 earnings call. ## Sources 1. [Yahoo Finance (Moby), Data Center Developers Are Dusting off Decades-old Power Engines, 9 November 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/energy/articles/data-center-developers-dusting-off-144938559.html) 2. [Kalkine, Fermi (NASDAQ:FRMI) Trading Near All-Time Low: Second Quarter Loss and Project Matador in Focus, 9 November 2026](https://kalkine.com/news/energy/fermi-nasdaqfrmi-trading-near-all-time-low-second-quarter-loss-and-project-matador-in-focus) 3. [Robert Bryce, Fermi Inc. Is Circling The Drain, Substack, 6 November 2026](https://robertbryce.substack.com/p/fermi-inc-is-circling-the-drain) 4. [FourWeekMBA, Fermi Paid $25M to Drop a 400 MW Lease Deadline on Its Loan, November 2026](https://fourweekmba.com/ai-fermi-paid-25m-to-drop-a-400-mw-lease-deadline-on-its-loan/) 5. [IdcNova, Fermi Says Data Center Lease With TensorWave Remains Committed Despite Missed Closing Date, 10 November 2026](https://www.idcnova.com/news/Fermi-Says-Data-Center-Lease-With-TensorWave-Remains-Committed-Despite-Missed-Closing-Date) 6. [Investing.com, Fermi Inc. stock may move 19% on earnings report next week, 5 November 2026](https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/fermi-inc-stock-may-move-19-on-earnings-report-next-week-93CH-5005098) 7. [The Enterprise (ACCESS Newswire), Fermi Announces Third Quarter 2026 Earnings Release and Call Date, 12 October 2026](https://www.enterprisenews.com/press-release/story/175756/fermi-announces-third-quarter-2026-earnings-release-and-call-date/) --- Fermi bets its stalled campus on three refurbished New Jersey turbines — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/fermi-bets-its-stalled-campus-on-three-refurbished-new-jersey-turbines