Fluor-led redevelopment will turn brownfield site into 401-MW Anthropic AI campus
Kentucky utility regulators on Aug. 21 approved a 482-MW electric-service agreement for developer TeraWulf Inc.’s $4-billion-plus Justified Data Campus, clearing a major regulatory hurdle for redevelopment of a former aluminum smelter site already under construction.
Easton, Md.-based TeraWulf, an owner, developer and operator of digital infrastructure, is converting a former Century Aluminum smelter that operated from 1969 until 2022 into a multiphase artificial intelligence and high-performance computing campus in Hawesville, about 70 miles southwest of Louisville along the Ohio River.
Under a 15-year agreement with TeraWulf, approved by the Kentucky Public Service Commission, electric cooperatives Big Rivers Electric Corp. and Kenergy Corp. will serve the campus while requiring the developer to bear market, transmission and customer-specific infrastructure costs.
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Justified DataPower LLC
Energy Plan
The approval satisfies commission authorization required under the project’s electric-service agreement, TeraWulf spokesperson Kerri Langlais told ENR in an Aug. 25 email. The company previously told regulators that financing was required to support a planned September 2027 power ramp and delayed regulatory approval could postpone financial close. Langlais did not say whether financial close has occurred.
TeraWulf acquired the property Feb. 2 in a transaction valued at about $302 million, according to a second-quarter federal Securities and Exchange Commission filing, gaining more than 250 buildable acres and electrical infrastructure that served the former smelter.
The inherited infrastructure includes an energized substation, multiple high-voltage transmission lines and a direct connection to the regional transmission network. The commission found that about 482 MW of transmission capability remains available at the site, with the delivery point connected to five 161-kV Big Rivers circuits.
“At Justified, we’re taking a former industrial site with existing transmission infrastructure and putting it back to productive use at scale,” TeraWulf CEO Paul Prager said in an Aug. 24 statement.
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Construction began before the regulator’s approval and includes demolition and remediation, site preparation and related environmental and permitting work, Langlais said. TeraWulf’s filings identify asbestos remediation and spent pot liner removal as its primary asset-retirement obligations at Hawesville, totaling about $16.5 million as of June 30.
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TeraWulf Inc.
SEC Form 8-K — Anthropic Lease
The company is participating in Kentucky’s Brownfield Program and has obtained coverage under the state’s general construction stormwater permit and a permit authorizing construction within the Ohio River floodplain.
Fluor, which ENR reported in March had been tapped for early engineering, master planning and preconstruction work, is now general contractor, Langlais said. Regulatory filings show TeraWulf held a formal construction kickoff with Fluor March 10 and brought more than 20 local firms to a contractor outreach event two days later.
Anthropic Sets Buildout Schedule
AI company Anthropic signed a 20-year lease with TeraWulf July 6 for about 401 MW of critical IT capacity at the campus. Langlais said TeraWulf expects to begin delivering the capacity in late 2027, with the full contracted amount expected in early 2028. Rent on each phase begins when TeraWulf delivers the corresponding leased premises.
TeraWulf acquired more than 250 buildable acres at the former Century Aluminum smelter in Hawesville, Ky., where it plans a multiphase data center campus with 401 MW of critical IT capacity leased to Anthropic.
Screengrab: Courtesy TeraWulf
The 401-MW buildout is larger than the 370 MW of critical IT capacity TeraWulf had presented to regulators in June, when plans called for two 185-MW data halls and $3.5 billion to $4 billion of capital investment.
TeraWulf now estimates $4 billion to $4.5 billion for site development and initial data halls, excluding Anthropic’s computing equipment and related infrastructure. In its Kentucky energy plan, TeraWulf projected the tenant would invest another $10 billion in computing infrastructure, raising combined investment in the Hawesville campus to more than $14 billion based on the company’s estimates.
Work on the site’s electrical system also adds project-specific construction costs. TeraWulf disclosed in its filing that it agreed to reimburse Big Rivers for substation modifications, with a net obligation of about $11.2 million after a $600,000 credit for electrical equipment.
The commission approval does not yet permit the campus to draw its full 482-MW load. The service agreement requires grid operator Midcontinent Independent System Operator approvals and transmission arrangements before the project can operate at its maximum contract demand.
