Power approval set to delay Oracle's Wisconsin AI datacenter

Grid connection awaits regulatory approval, putting planned 2027 customer delivery at risk

Oracle's Wisconsin AI datacenter could miss its planned 2027 start date because the transmission infrastructure needed to power it is awaiting regulatory approval.

Research company Aterio warns that Project Lighthouse, being developed by Vantage in Port Washington with Oracle as tenant, faces a real risk of slipping beyond Big Red's target of delivering capacity to customers in the second half of next year.

Separately, Oracle reportedly sent a force majeure notice to a Blue Owl Capital subsidiary developing Project Jupiter in New Mexico. Bloomberg reported that Oracle was seeking to defer payments if the campus failed to come online as planned, rather than withdraw from the project. Oracle says the development remains on schedule.

REG AD

Aterio said of this and the Wisconsin facility: "The regulatory record points to the potential for dates later than company guidance, and Oracle's stretched finances, together with its force majeure notice on Project Jupiter in New Mexico this week, raise the potential for slippage on its largest campuses."

REG AD

Oracle has been offered the opportunity to comment.

The Register has already reported that Oracle could face more than $100 million a year in financing costs to guarantee the power commitments behind the Wisconsin datacenter campus, which is rated at 902 MW of computing load and 1.3 GW of total electricity demand.

The immediate obstacle is American Transmission Company's (ATC) application to the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) for approval to build the campus's grid connection.

ATC is planning more than $2 billion in transmission infrastructure projects tied to datacenter developments across Wisconsin, ranging from high-voltage power lines and substations to upgrades to existing facilities.

Construction of the transmission infrastructure requires PSC approval.

"The problem is power. The campus cannot run until ATC connects it to the grid, and ATC cannot start building until the PSC approves its application," Aterio said.

The PSC closed the original case after withdrawing its finding that ATC's application was complete. ATC refiled in September, restarting the approval process.

Aterio's earliest scenario puts partial power in October 2027 and full supply in August 2028, although it considers that timetable highly unlikely.

REG AD

Its base case puts partial power in December 2027 and full supply in October 2028. An extended regulatory review could push those dates to June 2028 and April 2029.

Even December 2027 power delivery would leave little room for testing and commissioning before Oracle's deadline.

"In practice, a datacenter does not enter service as soon as first grid power arrives. Each building's electrical and cooling systems have to be energized, tested and commissioned before it can carry customer load. That will take time. We therefore expect the campus's load to ramp up mainly from the first quarter of 2028," Aterio said.

Meanwhile, the Financial Times reported that Tencent had signed a $7 billion deal to lease around 100,000 AI processors from Oracle.

For context, Oracle reported $55.7 billion in total capital expenditures for its fiscal 2026, which closed at the end of May. Its total revenue was $67.4 billion. Capex guidance for the 2027 financial year is up to $95 billion. ®