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Nate Franklin’s bold GW Ranch plan is the kind of American ambition this country needs more of: an 8,400-acre power complex in West Texas, 7.5 gigawatts of gas-fired generation complemented by solar and batteries, and a $12 billion price tag to build the backbone of our AI era. It’s capitalism at its best — seeing an urgent national need and moving to meet it with private capital and engineering. If Franklin can deliver even a fraction of his vision, it will be a trophy of American grit, not government fiat.
This project rests on an unapologetic truth conservatives have always known: energy abundance is freedom. Cheap natural gas at the Waha hub and wide-open West Texas make sensible, low-cost power possible without begging for subsidies or shoehorning projects into hostile urban neighborhoods. Entrepreneurs like Franklin are showing how market-driven energy solutions can fuel the next industrial revolution rather than waiting for permission from distant bureaucrats.
Of course the predictable hand-wringers and radical environmentalists want to slam the brakes — with moratoriums, national bans, and virtue-signaling politicians eager to posture. Those proposals would not only cripple innovation, they would handcuff our national competitiveness by blocking the very power AI centers require. America does not win by kneecapping its infrastructure under the guise of woke politics; it wins by building.
The smart move in this plan is the off-grid approach — a private power island that sidesteps ERCOT’s slow interconnection queue and the patchwork of local distribution fees. Let companies who want to build massive, energy-intensive facilities pay for the infrastructure that serves them and strike deals that make economic sense. This is federalism and free enterprise in action: less centralized red tape, more local control, and faster delivery.
Yes, $12 billion is a lot of money, and the gamble is real, but so is the upside: hyperscalers and AI firms will pay for reliable, cheap megawatts if the product is right. Franklin already has turbines on order and interest from international capital; that’s how major projects get built — through risk-taking and partnerships, not through virtue lectures in coastal editorial pages. We should cheer on American deals that attract global investment and put American soil, workers, and companies to work.
Policy should be about enabling, not obstructing. State and federal regulators should streamline permitting for responsible projects, protect property rights, and stop catering to activist outrage that often masks anti-growth agendas. Conservatives should push for a pragmatic energy strategy that embraces natural gas, sensible renewables, and storage as complementary pieces of national strength.
This is more than a business plan — it’s a test of whether America will build the future or sit back while others fill the void. Support for projects like GW Ranch means real jobs in Texas, stronger supply chains, and the power to keep AI innovation anchored here at home. Patriots should back builders, not bans; we owe the next generation a country that powers its own destiny.
