Riot signs a $28bn AI lab lease and Google commits $17bn in Wyoming as US voters back data centre limits in 40 of 41 ballot measures
US voters backed data centre limits in 40 of 41 local ballot measures, yet Riot Platforms signed a 910MW, $28bn lease with an AI lab and Google committed $17bn in Wyoming and $15bn in Malaysia, while HUMAIN closed SAR 2.5bn of financing in Saudi Arabia.
The week in 30 seconds
- North America: Voters backed data centre limits in 40 of 41 local ballot measures, but capital kept moving: Riot Platforms leased its 910MW Corsicana campus to an unnamed frontier AI lab for about $28bn, and Google committed $17bn to its first Wyoming campus.
- Asia Pacific: Google pledged $15bn for new Malaysian campuses in 2027 and 2028, and Goodman and Digital Realty bid about A$715m for up to 9.9% of NEXTDC.
- Middle East & GCC: HUMAIN signed up to SAR 2.5bn ($667m) of GPU and power financing with Saudi Arabia's National Infrastructure Fund, and a Mubbadrah-led consortium announced a 400MW, $3bn AI campus in Oman.
The headline story
The US midterms delivered the clearest public verdict yet on data centres. Ballotpedia counted 41 local measures across 10 states, and voters backed limits or rejected pro-development proposals in 40 of them, with Ohio alone accounting for 21 (Baxtel). In Texas, governor-elect Gina Hinojosa pledged to halt new data centre approvals until lawmakers pass new rules (Baxtel), and OpenAI answered with a community compact under which it would pay for its power and grid costs and stop using non-disclosure agreements with public officials (Baxtel).
The money did not slow. Riot Platforms signed a 15-year lease for its entire 910MW Corsicana campus in Texas with what it calls a leading frontier AI lab, worth about $28bn over the initial term, with 400MW due in September 2027 and the rest by July 2028 (Riot Platforms). Google committed $17bn to a campus near Cheyenne powered partly by a 702MW AEP fuel cell plant (Google), and Lambda said it will invest an estimated $33.1bn at Project Red Clay in Alabama (Lambda).
The two stories meet at the site. Capital, customers and power are lining up faster than local consent, and the projects that move will be those whose teams can win a county vote as well as a lease.
Talent signal: community engagement, government affairs and permitting leaders in Texas, Ohio, Arizona and Alabama, and site directors who can run a public hearing as confidently as a construction programme.
AI infrastructure watch
The GPU and AI factory moves of the week, and the leadership they need. More on our AI infrastructure page.
Google backstops TeraWulf's debt for an Anthropic campus
Google signed credit support agreements covering the planned debt financing for TeraWulf's Justified campus in Hawesville, Kentucky, which carries about $19bn of lease commitments with Anthropic; TeraWulf also signed a definitive EPC agreement with Fluor for three buildings, with phased handovers from late 2027 to the second quarter of 2028 (TeraWulf).
Talent signal: project finance and construction leaders at former bitcoin miners converting into AI hosts, in Kentucky and Texas.
Lambda anchors a 1GW campus in Alabama
Lambda will be the end user at Cloverleaf Infrastructure's Red Clay campus in Lowndes County, planned at 1GW with room for 1.5GW, with construction from the first quarter of 2027 and first operations targeted for the fourth quarter of 2028 (Baxtel).
Talent signal: neocloud campus directors and Alabama Power interface leads around Montgomery.
NTT DATA signs 900MW of Bloom fuel cells
NTT Global Data Centers will use Bloom Energy fuel cells as primary power at new projects worldwide, with first shipments in 2027; neither company disclosed price or sites (Baxtel).
Talent signal: on-site generation and gas supply leaders inside colocation operators, a role most did not have two years ago.
Mavria raises $130m to build data centres in a factory
The Houston-area start-up, founded by former US Department of Energy staff, launched with $130m raised at a $1bn valuation and is producing a 5MW liquid-cooled unit called Terrain (Baxtel).
Talent signal: manufacturing and industrial operations leaders crossing into data centre supply.
North America
Google buys Crusoe's Wyoming site for its $17bn campus
The 716-acre Laramie County site was previously Crusoe's Project Jade; Crusoe has now confirmed the sale to Google and says it still has more than 6GW contracted (W.Media).
Talent signal: energy procurement leaders who can combine fuel cells, gas and carbon capture into one supply plan, in Cheyenne and Denver.
SpaceX files for a 6GW campus in Cochise County
A SpaceX affiliate applied to build a nine-building campus of up to 6GW on 747 acres near Willcox, Arizona, in four phases, with up to $50bn of investment and a zoning hearing on 9 December (Baxtel).
Talent signal: transmission and utility partnership leaders able to work with rural cooperatives far smaller than the load they serve.
ING reportedly sells $500m of data centre loans
Bloomberg reported that ING is seeking bids for dozens of US data centre loans linked to Vantage Data Centers and CyrusOne, citing concern over post-election delays (W.Media).
Talent signal: credit and capital markets leaders at developers, as lenders reprice political risk.
Europe
Statnett pauses new data centre grid reservations in Norway
The grid operator stopped reserving transmission capacity for new data centre connections above 100MW until no later than 1 August 2027, with 9,100MW already in its queue (Baxtel).
Talent signal: Nordic grid strategy and regulatory leaders who can keep pipelines alive through a licensing reset.
Bank of England queries speculative data centre loans
Bloomberg reported that the Bank asked lenders to detail UK data centre loans made before a tenant committed to rent (Baxtel).
Talent signal: UK CFOs and leasing heads who can secure pre-lets before breaking ground.
Pure DC secures a financing framework of up to $1.9bn
The $780m growth facility, expandable through a $1.1bn accordion, brings in Citigroup, First Abu Dhabi Bank and Infranity alongside existing lenders for Europe and the Middle East (W.Media).
Talent signal: treasury and development finance leaders in London and Abu Dhabi.
Protesters enter a Microsoft construction site in Amsterdam
W.Media reported that activists occupied the site on 6 November as part of a European campaign calling for a moratorium on large data centres; Microsoft said it respects peaceful protest but not unlawful action (W.Media).
Talent signal: site security and community relations leaders on European construction programmes.
Middle East & GCC
HUMAIN signs SAR 2.5bn with the National Infrastructure Fund
The two facilities, the first under Infra's AI data centre financing programme, fund about 25MW of GPU deployment and power infrastructure designed for up to 1GW of future IT load (Arab News).
Talent signal: project finance and grid connection leaders in Riyadh.
Mubbadrah leads a 400MW AI campus plan in Oman
The consortium, with Sustopia Capital, Vela Tech and O2 Global Energy, plans up to 400MW with an initial $3bn and 400MW of solar with storage; it said Crusoe has shown interest as a potential customer (DataCenterNews Asia).
Talent signal: country managers and hyperscale development heads for Oman, a market with few experienced operators.
Asia Pacific
Google pledges $15bn for Malaysia
The programme for 2027 and 2028 funds new campuses in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan, and Google says it will add more than 1GW of clean energy to the grid (Baxtel).
Talent signal: construction, energy and water infrastructure leaders in the Klang Valley and Negeri Sembilan.
Goodman and Digital Realty bid for a NEXTDC stake
The partners offered A$9.50 a share for up to 9.9% of NEXTDC, about A$715m, after a delay to power upgrades at its M3 site; NEXTDC's board called the move opportunistic (Baxtel).
Talent signal: board, investor relations and power delivery leaders at Australian listed operators.
AirTrunk named operator of a seven-building Mickleham campus
The Melbourne proposal covers 935,730 sq m of floor area and a new terminal station funded by AirTrunk, as Victorian councils call for a moratorium on approvals (AirTrunk).
Talent signal: Victorian planning and community investment leaders.
Equinix opens SG6 in Singapore
The US$290m first phase brings 8MW of a planned 20MW, designed for a PUE of 1.2 (W.Media).
Talent signal: high-density operations leaders in Singapore.
New money
Funding rounds, financings, IPOs, M&A and investment pledges announced this week.
| Who | What | Amount | Region | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lambda | Estimated investment at Red Clay campus, Alabama | $33.1bn | North America | Lambda |
| Riot Platforms | 15-year Corsicana lease with an unnamed AI lab (contract value) | About $28bn | North America | Riot Platforms |
| Investment in first Wyoming campus | $17bn | North America | ||
| Malaysia investment, 2027 to 2028 | $15bn | Asia Pacific | Baxtel | |
| Mubbadrah consortium | Initial investment in Oman AI campus | $3bn | Middle East & GCC | DataCenterNews Asia |
| Pure DC | Growth facility with accordion | $780m, up to $1.9bn | Europe and Middle East | W.Media |
| HUMAIN | GPU and power financing from Infra | SAR 2.5bn ($667m) | Middle East & GCC | Arab News |
New capacity
| Project | Region | Size | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| SpaceX, Cochise Supercomputer Campus, Arizona (applied) | North America | Up to 6GW | Baxtel |
| Lambda and Cloverleaf, Red Clay, Lowndes County, Alabama | North America | 1GW, up to 1.5GW | Baxtel |
| Riot Platforms, Corsicana, Texas (leased) | North America | 910MW | Riot Platforms |
| Mubbadrah consortium, Oman (planned) | Middle East & GCC | Up to 400MW | DataCenterNews Asia |
| AWS, Walla Walla County, Washington (proposed) | North America | 300MW | Baxtel |
| Equinix, SG6, Singapore | Asia Pacific | 8MW first phase, 20MW planned | W.Media |
Leadership moves
- Madhusudan Pattanaik, Executive Vice President at CtrlS Datacenters; he was previously Vice President and Business Unit Head for data centres and advanced factories at KEC International (APAC News Network). Indian operators are hiring project delivery leaders from EPC contractors to keep build programmes on schedule.
- Navid Shahriari, Senior Vice President at MediaTek from 9 November, reporting to the General Manager and Chief Operating Officer; he previously led packaging at Intel (DIGITIMES). Advanced packaging has become a deciding skill for custom AI silicon.
The T4X view
This week the industry learned that a signed lease and a county vote are two different approvals. Riot, Google and Lambda all secured customers, capital or power, while voters in Ohio, Maine and Kansas showed they can stop projects that lack local support. Boards should now treat community engagement and permitting as senior, board-reported roles, filled with the same care as the CFO.