TeraWulf doubles Kentucky data center power to 1 GW, with no tenant yet
TeraWulf doubled contracted power at its Muskie campus in Kentucky to 1 GW and pulled the second 500 MW into 2029. The power is signed; the renter is not. The stuck step is the tenant.
WIRE · AI DATA CENTERS · US · Data as at 9 Oct 2026
TeraWulf has doubled the power it has under contract at its Muskie data center campus in eastern Kentucky, from 500 MW to 1 GW. The utility is Kentucky Power, part of American Electric Power. The second 500 MW is now planned for 2029, a year earlier than before. No tenant is named. On the AI data center build, this is the power-to-hall step done before the renter step: the electricity is signed, the hall has no customer yet.
What happened
On 1 October 2026, TeraWulf's subsidiary DB Long Hunts Data LLC signed amended transmission and energy service agreements with Kentucky Power. TeraWulf disclosed them in a filing and press release on 5 October.
The facts as filed:
Contracted power
1 GW at Muskie, up from 500 MW
TeraWulf Form 8-K, 5 Oct 2026
Timing
First 500 MW starts ramping in 2028; second 500 MW moves from 2030 to 2029
The 2029 date needs Kentucky Public Service Commission approval and Kentucky Power's build schedule
The grid build
Kentucky Power is building a 765-kV / 345-kV substation for the site
TeraWulf release, 5 Oct 2026
Tenant
None named. The company cites "strong customer interest"
TeraWulf release, 5 Oct 2026
Money
Plans a bigger credit line and more secured debt to back letters of credit for utilities
TeraWulf Form 8-K, 5 Oct 2026: "no assurance" the financing will be obtained
Why cash cares
An AI data hall needs three things signed: power, money and a renter. Power is usually the slowest. Here it is the one that is done.
That flips who carries the risk. A utility will not build a 765-kV substation on a promise. It wants security, and TeraWulf says its Kentucky deals "provide financial protections for utility investment." The filing shows what that costs: TeraWulf is looking for new secured debt to back letters of credit to its utility partners. So banks and the utility get paid, or protected, first. TeraWulf gets paid only when a renter signs for the halls.
Here is our own arithmetic, not a reported figure. 1 GW is about 1.7 times the 590 MW of grid service Black Hills agreed this week to supply Google in Wyoming (our Wire). But Google signed as the user there. At Muskie, 0 MW of the 1,000 MW is leased to a named customer.
Figure: Power-first bind. The power is signed: 1 GW from Kentucky Power. The stuck step is the renter: none named. The money behind the utility deal, new secured debt for letters of credit, is still being raised.
The second-order read
Who gets paid. Kentucky Power and its parent AEP, which build the substation with financial protections from TeraWulf. The banks that write the letters of credit and lend the new secured debt.
Who pays. TeraWulf, which carries collateral and interest before any rent comes in.
Who waits. The Kentucky regulator, which must approve the 2029 date. And the renter TeraWulf has not yet named.
Stuck step. The tenant. Power without a renter is a cost, not a hall.
Two cautions
The 2029 date is not final. It depends on Kentucky regulators and on Kentucky Power's build schedule. The regulator did approve TeraWulf's separate Hawesville power deal in August, the company says.
TeraWulf says it is weighing up to 2 GW at Muskie. That figure is not contracted.
What to watch
- A named tenant at Muskie, with megawatts and a term. That is the signal that turns 1 GW of power into rent.
- The credit line upsize and new secured debt: size and price.
- TeraWulf's third-quarter results, expected in early November (date not yet confirmed).
Read: Hyperscalers, Who Finances GPU Clusters, and Black Hills to build $1.8B of gas power for Google
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Sources: TeraWulf Form 8-K, 5 Oct 2026: amended agreements with Kentucky Power executed 1 Oct 2026, contracted capacity at Muskie from 500 MW to 1 GW, second 500 MW moved from 2030 to 2029 subject to Kentucky PSC approval and Kentucky Power's construction schedule, first 500 MW targeted to ramp in 2028, plans to upsize its senior secured revolving credit facility and raise additional senior secured debt for letter-of-credit needs with utilities, with no assurance of financing; TeraWulf release (Exhibit 99.1), 5 Oct 2026: Kentucky Power developing a 765-kV / 345-kV substation, Muskie acquired May 2026, up to 2 GW under evaluation, "strong customer interest", financial protections for utility investment, PSC approval of the Hawesville agreement in August; American Public Power Association, 8 Oct 2026: Black Hills up to 590 MW of grid-connected service for Google's Cheyenne data center. The 1.7 times comparison is our arithmetic. Not investment advice. Do your own research.
