The Daily Dig:
Applied Digital has broken ground on its Delta Forge 1 data center campus, a massive 430 megawatt development built to handle the intense demands of large scale AI and high-performance computing. The project is somewhere in the southern United States, though they're keeping the exact location under wraps for now. When it's all said and done, the campus should deliver up to 300 MW of critical IT load across a site that stretches over 500 acres.
The first phase will bring two facilities online, each clocking in around 150 MW. Applied Digital is aiming to fire up initial operations by mid-2027, with plans to keep expanding through 2028 and beyond. The company hasn't named the general contractor, design team, or put a price tag on the project yet, signaling they're still in the early stages even though dirt is already moving.
Project Snapshot:
Owner / Developer: Applied Digital Corporation
General Contractor: Not disclosed
Sector: AI / High-Density Data Center
Infrastructure Value: Not disclosed
Location: Southern United States (exact location not disclosed)
Timeline: Construction underway; initial operations targeted mid-2027
TheJobWalk Thoughts:
Projects this big don't kick off with blueprints, they kick off with power. Locking down hundreds of megawatts and finding land that can actually handle the transmission infrastructure comes first. Everything else follows. The fact that key partners haven't been announced yet suggests they're keeping their options open as things come together. That's pretty standard for AI-focused campuses, where the real execution strategy only solidifies once the utilities are sorted, load planning is locked in, and customer commitments are in place.
