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Kentucky Data Center Intel
Latest data center news, projects, power and policy across Kentucky — updated daily.
Recent Kentucky data center news
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TeraWulf’s $19B Anthropic Lease Puts Its Brownfield AI Strategy to the Test
TeraWulf has announced a 20-year, $19 billion lease with Anthropic for approximately 401 MW of critical IT capacity at its Justified Data campus in Hawesville, Kentucky, while also agreeing to sell its 50.1% interest in the 168-MW Abernathy data center joint venture in Texas.
- Anthropic lease: TeraWulf says the agreement is expected to generate about $19 billion in contracted revenue over 20 years; initial capacity is slated for 2H 2027 and the full 401 MW ramp by early 2028.
- Abernathy sale and site details: TeraWulf will sell its 50.1% interest in Abernathy for about $530 million, paid in three installments through April 2027; the Hawesville site includes 250+ buildable acres, multiple high-voltage transmission lines, an energized substation, and direct transmission access.
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High-density Data Center and Colocation Footprints
365 Data Centers has outlined its high-density data center expansion strategy, combining upgrades to existing facilities with a new AI-ready capacity pipeline.
- The company says organic expansion will upgrade facilities it already owns and operates in Pennsylvania, Texas, Georgia, and Colorado to support higher-density deployments.
- Through a partnership with Aphorio Carter, 365 Data Centers says it is developing about 200 MW of AI-ready capacity across key U.S. markets over the next 18-24 months, with initial projects in Colorado and Kentucky and other sites under evaluation in Connecticut, Kentucky, Virginia, Ohio, and Tennessee.
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TeraWulf seeks $3.5bn in funding for construction of data center for Anthropic
TeraWulf has announced plans to raise around $3.5 billion in debt financing for its data center campus in Kentucky, with the facility expected to be leased by Anthropic.
- Morgan Stanley is expected to lead the financing, and the package will likely also include high-yield bonds.
- The fundraising follows Anthropic’s reported 20-year deal for the Justified Data campus in Hawesville, Kentucky, with a total estimated value of $19 billion; TeraWulf also said it sold its 50.1% stake in the Abernathy Joint Venture with Fluidstack and previously secured a $250 million revolving credit line.
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Sphere 3D enters 30MW co-mining agreements with Bitdeer
Sphere 3D has announced new co-mining agreements with Bitdeer Technologies Group for 30MW of capacity across three data center sites in Tennessee and Kentucky.
- Bitdeer will deploy Sealminer A2 Pro Air hardware at Sphere 3D’s sites, with the two companies sharing net mining proceeds under separate agreements.
- Each agreement has an initial one-year term and may be renewed for one additional year; financial terms were not disclosed. Sphere 3D said the move lets it use available power capacity while evaluating AI and HPC opportunities. The company also said it closed its business combination with Cathedra Bitcoin in June 2026, engaged EA Advisors in June, and plans to rename itself DarkHorse Technologies Inc. subject to shareholder approval.
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Anthropic signs $19bn, 20-year lease for Kentucky data center with TeraWulf
TeraWulf has announced a long-term lease with Anthropic for its Justified Data campus in Hawesville, Kentucky, and separately said it is selling its 50.1% ownership interest in the Abernathy Joint Venture.
- Anthropic lease: the agreement runs for 20 years and is expected to generate about $19 billion in revenue for TeraWulf; the campus is planned for up to 401MW of IT capacity, with initial capacity in the second half of 2027 and full operations by early 2028.
- Abernathy JV sale: TeraWulf said it is divesting its entire 50.1% ownership in the JV with Fluidstack in Abernathy, Texas; the JV was formed in October 2025 for a 168MW data center on a 120-acre campus, and TeraWulf said the deal helps it realize value from its $450m investment.
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Data center moratorium blocking gigawatt campus challenged in Cave City, Kentucky
The Kentucky Industrial Alliance LLC has filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction to lift Cave City’s 12-month moratorium on data centers.
- Lawsuit filed: Kentucky Industrial Alliance LLC filed a complaint on June 8, 2026, against the City of Cave City, the Cave City Council, and the city-county planning commission of Barren County requesting an injunction to lift a 12-month moratorium that Cave City enacted in May; the case is scheduled to be heard in July 2026.
- Project details & background: The developer submitted plans in May for a proposed data center campus on 380 acres at 2001 Doyle Avenue via affiliate Cave City DataCo I LLC; local press reported the proposed “Cave Point Commerce Center” could include ~10 buildings, ~2 million sq ft (185,806 sqm) and up to 1.2GW of capacity; owners are Mike Jones, Jared Whitworth, and Joey Crist.
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Oracle’s Wisconsin Suit Tests How States Hedge AI Data Center Risks
Oracle has filed a lawsuit asking a Wisconsin court to reverse part of the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin’s order that raised financial assurance requirements for hyperscale data center customers.
- Main action: Oracle seeks judicial relief to restore Wisconsin Electric’s original financial-assurance framework (parent-credit threshold BBB / Baa2) after the Commission raised the threshold to A- (S&P) / A3 (Moody’s) and removed utility waiver discretion; Oracle says the change could force it to provide more than $100 million annually in letters of credit or cash for its planned Lighthouse data center campus in Port Washington.
- Background and procedural details: The filing is a legal challenge (not a challenge to the tariffs themselves) asserting the Commission exceeded its authority and lacked evidentiary support; the Commission has not ruled on a rehearing petition from Wisconsin Electric, Vantage, and Cloverleaf Infrastructure, which proposed a graduated security framework and allowing Oracle to meet 90% via parent guaranty and 10% via letter of credit or cash.
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Carolina West Wireless to Transfer Mobile Network to Verizon
Carolina West Wireless has announced it will shut down its wireless service by Sept. 30, 2026 and transition its network to Verizon.
- Main action:Carolina West Wireless (CWW) will cease wireless operations by Sept. 30, 2026 and is transitioning its network to Verizon; customers who switch to Verizon before July 30 will receive a $150 Mastercard gift card per line and Verizon will not charge mobile line activation fees. CEO Slayton Stewart said the decision reflects rising infrastructure demands and the company pledged support for employees via severance and career services. CWW did not disclose the fate of its FCC-overseen wireless licenses.
- Background and reaction: CWW was founded in 1991 and is owned by a partnership of Skyline Telephone and Surry Communications; the Competitive Carriers Association President & CEO Tim Donovan urged sustainable USF operational expense support for rural carriers and called on Congress and the FCC to act promptly. Links to CWW customer transition FAQs and local reporting are cited in the article.
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Tennessee Valley Corridor summit participants focus on AI, quantum initiatives
The state of Tennessee has pledged $43 million for the Tennessee Quantum Initiative (TQI).
- $43 million pledge by the State of Tennessee to the Tennessee Quantum Initiative (TQI) to build the ecosystem that moves quantum technologies toward real-world adoption; the initiative will increase access to quantum resources, support workforce development, and is linked to hiring through the K-Quantum Accelerator and plans for a 100,000-square-foot quantum foundry in Knoxville.
- Tennessee Valley Corridor National Summit (May 28-29, Chattanooga): attended by ORNL, DOE, UT-Battelle, U.S. Reps. Chuck Fleischmann and John Rose, and state leaders; ORNL highlighted its AI history (Oak Ridge Applied Artificial Intelligence Project, 1979), continued leadership in HPC/exascale via the Genesis Mission, and cited an industry partnership with Nvidia tied to Nvidia’s $5.5 trillion market valuation.
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From Tail Risk to Design Baseline: How the Grid Is Adapting to Extreme Heat
POWER (Sonal Patel) reports that system planners and grid operators are now treating extreme heat as an assumed operating condition rather than a tail risk.
- Main announcement/action: POWER summarizes that system planners and reliability entities (notably NERC and FERC) and operators are treating extreme heat as a design baseline, citing metrics such as EIA projection of ~1,610 CDDs for 2026 (4% above 2025), NERC’s 2026 Summer Reliability Assessment (net internal demand up 1.3% to 790 GW, and >58 GW of new on-peak capacity including 16.4 GW solar, 14.7 GW batteries, 6.7 GW natural gas, 1.6 GW wind), and FERC’s forecast of $46.81/MWh average wholesale price for summer 2026. The piece catalogues operational changes (hourly ambient-adjusted transmission ratings, dynamic line ratings pilots, ADMS/DERMS deployments) and emergency interventions (DOE Section 202(c) orders covering roughly 4,400 MW of extended capacity service).
- Background and details: The article documents drought risks (FERC: 62% of continental U.S. impacted; Lake Powell inflow forecast at 13% of average), potential loss of up to 4,500 MW of Colorado River hydropower as soon as August 2026, rapid data center load growth (from 44 GW in 2025 to 55 GW in 2026, ~25%), and operational timelines (PJM implemented AAR on March 4, 2026; SPP expects AAR by Sept. 1, 2026; MISO full compliance by Q2 2028).