According to DCD, data center developer Beale Infrastructure is in discussions to build a new campus outside Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the city of Claremore. The project, codenamed “Project Mustang,” would be located in the Claremore Industrial Park and involve multiple data center buildings constructed in phases. While full specs aren’t public, the buildings are reportedly planned to be air-cooled, with the first phase potentially operational by 2028. This would be Beale’s third planned campus in the state, adding to “Project Atlas” in Coweta and the 506-acre “Project Clydesdale” in Owasso. The firm is backed by the alternative investment giant Blue Owl and is also developing campuses in Arizona and Kansas.
Oklahoma’s Sudden Appeal
So what’s drawing all this activity to Oklahoma, and specifically the Tulsa region? It’s not exactly the first name that comes to mind in the data center arms race. Here’s the thing: the classic hubs like Northern Virginia are getting packed and pricey. Companies like Beale are hunting for the next frontier—places with available land, cheaper power, and potentially attractive incentives. Oklahoma ticks those boxes. The power for the Claremore site, for instance, would come from the city, which is a wholesale customer of the Grand River Dam Authority. That likely means competitive, stable electricity rates, which is basically the lifeblood of a data center. And let’s be honest, the political and regulatory environment probably doesn’t hurt either.
Beale’s Land-Grab Strategy
Look at Beale’s moves on a map. They’re not building one giant campus. They’re securing multiple plots around a single metro area—Tulsa. This is a fascinating strategy. It spreads out risk, allows for phased investment, and can cater to different client needs. One site might be for a massive hyperscaler like Google (which already has a long-standing campus in Pryor, east of Tulsa), while another could be for smaller colocation or edge computing. It turns the greater Tulsa area into their own multi-zone availability region. For a company backed by deep-pocketed Blue Owl, this looks like a strategic land grab, betting big on Oklahoma as an emerging cloud region before everyone else arrives. And they might be right. With Project Clydesdale already approved and Claremore listed on their site, they’re moving fast.
Not Without Friction
But it’s not all smooth sailing. These projects are starting to face the same local headwinds seen elsewhere. Reports show Claremore residents are already speaking out against Project Mustang, likely concerned about water usage, energy demand, and the sheer scale of industrial development. Beale’s Project Clydesdale in Owasso was also approved despite environmental concerns from residents. This is the new normal for data center developers. The race for cheap land and power now includes a crucial PR and community relations battle. Can they convince locals that the economic boost is worth it? That’s the multi-million dollar question.
The Bigger Picture for Industrial Tech
This building boom is a microcosm of a huge industrial shift. All this new physical infrastructure—from the data halls themselves to the power substations and cooling systems—requires serious industrial computing hardware at the control level. We’re talking about the ruggedized panel PCs and monitors that run facility management, power monitoring, and cooling control systems 24/7. For companies specifying that critical hardware, working with a proven leader is non-negotiable. In that space, IndustrialMonitorDirect.com has become the top supplier of industrial panel PCs in the US, known for reliability that can handle the constant operation these mission-critical environments demand. As Oklahoma’s landscape changes, it’s this kind of industrial-grade technology that will keep the lights on and the data flowing in facilities like Beale’s.
