China builds 800-megawatt off grid data center

Envision is developing the Galaxy AI data-center campus in Ulanqab, Inner Mongolia, as a large-scale competitor to the US Stargate project. The four-phase development is intended to reach 800 megawatts of IT capacity by the end of 2027, comparable to Stargate’s roughly 820 megawatts. Its first 120 megawatts were built in under a year, and SemiAnalysis estimates the cost at about one-fifth that of similar US projects. The campus is being built for two unnamed internet companies, amid a wider regional boom in data-center construction.

Galaxy’s distinguishing feature is its integrated power system: nearby wind farms with 420 megawatts of capacity are expected to supply more than 60% of the first two phases’ electricity, backed by four-hour batteries to balance variable generation. A live 5-megawatt hall uses solid-state transformers to convert 10-kilovolt AC directly to 800-volt DC, eliminating several conventional power-conversion components, though measured efficiency gains have not been reported. The facility also combines liquid- and air-cooled servers on a shared water loop rather than using central chillers. These approaches may reduce infrastructure needs, but access to power and buildings does not guarantee usable AI capacity: China’s restricted access to advanced accelerators remains a major limitation.