TeraWulf buys Kentucky site for 1-GW AI data center campus

Bitcoin miner TeraWulf is betting that power access, not computing hardware, will decide the winners of the AI infrastructure race.

TeraWulf Inc. acquired a Kentucky development site capable of supporting more than 1 gigawatt of data center capacity, as the Bitcoin miner pivots deeper into AI infrastructure where power availability has become the binding constraint.

"The defining constraint in this market is no longer computing hardware — it is power, transmission infrastructure, and execution certainty," Paul Prager, chairman and chief executive officer at TeraWulf, said.

The 285-acre site within EastPark Industrial Park, dubbed the Muskie Data Campus, is already zoned for data center use. Kentucky Power, an AEP subsidiary, is building a 345-kilovolt substation tied to an existing 765 kV transmission network. The first 500 megawatts are expected to come online in the second half of 2028, with an additional 500 MW targeted for 2030, the company said in a statement. TeraWulf did not disclose the purchase price.

Shares of TeraWulf rose 9 percent to $24.78 on Tuesday, reaching a 12-month high of $25.92. The stock has more than doubled year-to-date. The deal marks TeraWulf's second major digital infrastructure campus in Kentucky, joining the 480 MW Justified Data site in Hancock County, and shows how Bitcoin miners with existing power infrastructure are repositioning to capture AI demand.

Power Becomes the New Compute

The Muskie campus sits within the 1,000-acre EastPark Industrial Park with optional adjacent acreage for future expansion. TeraWulf said limited site work is required before construction can begin, and permitting activities are already underway. The transaction, structured as a membership interest purchase agreement with seller Industrial Equity Partners, closed May 22 and required no third-party consents or regulatory approvals, according to an SEC filing.

TeraWulf's strategy mirrors a broader shift among Bitcoin miners including IREN, MARA Holdings, and Hive Digital Technologies, all of which have pivoted toward AI computing to monetize their power infrastructure. The company's AI compute revenue outpaced its Bitcoin mining revenue for the first time in the first quarter, though TeraWulf reported a net loss of $427 million for the period.

A Second Kentucky Bet

The company is also building high-performance computing infrastructure for Fluidstack and Google at its Lake Mariner facility, and has a pending acquisition in Morgantown, Maryland, subject to regulatory approval. Prager described TeraWulf's approach as operating "fundamentally as a power company that builds digital infrastructure," rather than a miner that happens to consume electricity.

Kentucky has emerged as a magnet for large-scale AI and data center development, driven by its existing energy infrastructure and supportive state and local government. The project has backing from the governor's office, county leadership, and regional economic development authorities, TeraWulf said.

For context, 1 GW of capacity can power roughly 750,000 homes, a measure of the electricity demand the AI buildout requires. As hyperscalers and infrastructure firms compete for grid-connected sites with transmission access, the companies that control power — not just GPUs — may hold the advantage.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.