Key developments
Applied Digital signs 300MW hyperscaler lease
Applied Digital said it signed a 15-year take-or-pay agreement for 300MW of essential IT load at Polaris Forge 3 with a U.S.-based hyperscaler customer. The deal lifts base-term contracted revenue by about $7.5 billion, pushes contracted essential IT load across its campuses to 1.2GW, and takes baseline contracted revenue to $31 billion.
Why it matters
It is a large fresh commercial commitment that materially de-risks one of the sector's biggest AI data center buildouts.
Sources & driving stories
YAHOO FINANCE · Sheryar Siddiq
Yahoo Finance coverageWisconsin PSC broadens data center resource tariff
On May 21, the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin issued its written order in We Energies' very large customer case, a proceeding tied to hyperscale data center power demand. The commission widened the bespoke resource tariff beyond traditional utility-scale gas plants to include solar-plus-storage virtual power plants, demand response, and other distributed energy resources, while adding transparency and reporting requirements on what gets built.
Why it matters
The order could become a precedent for steering data center load growth toward cleaner and more flexible resources instead of new gas infrastructure.
Sources & driving stories
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW & POLICY CENTER
Environmental Law & Policy Center coverageMichigan data center projects draw major backing
Planet Detroit reported multiple Michigan data center moves on June 1: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman visited Oracle's Saline Township campus, where Oracle executive Clay Magouyrk said the initial $16 billion Stargate estimate excludes networking gear and GPUs that could add $30 billion to $40 billion. Separately, Van Buren Township approved about $124 million in Google property tax breaks for a planned 1-gigawatt data center, and DTE announced a $1.6 billion battery purchase from LG Energy Solution Vertech with five of eight systems set to support the Saline project.
Why it matters
Michigan is becoming a high-stakes test case for how AI campuses are financed, subsidized, and supplied with power.
Sources & driving stories
PLANET DETROIT
Planet Detroit coverageWorth noting
WORTH NOTING
Utah county reviews data center order
Box Elder County's review of Gov. Spencer Cox's executive order and the stalled Stratos Project show local resistance is still reshaping Utah's data center pipeline.
WORTH NOTING
Ohio tax pause clouds EnergiAcres plans
Ohio's pause on the data center sales and use tax exemption could alter project economics for developments that are still in early planning.
WORTH NOTING
China switches on undersea data center
The Shanghai-area project is an unusual test of liquid cooling and offshore wind power for AI infrastructure.
Still unclear
OPEN QUESTION
Will Wisconsin's tariff actually reduce gas builds?
The commission opened the door to flexible, cleaner resources, but the market response will determine whether hyperscale projects really move away from gas.
OPEN QUESTION
How far can AI campus price tags keep rising?
Oracle's claim that networking gear and GPUs could add $30 billion to $40 billion shows how much of the cost sits outside the initial headline number.