What PUCT's transmission approval means for CORZ, IREN, and CIFR

Last Tuesday, we covered applications for three proposed 765 kV transmission routes for power delivery to West Texas. The Public Utilities Commission of Texas approved one of these routes last Friday, significantly derisking expansion plans for Core Scientific, Cipher Digital, and IREN — among others — with the greenlight.

The northernmost route of the three, the roughly 425-mile stretch of wire, will connect the Dinosaur Switch (near Glen Rose and Somervell counties) to the Drill Hole Switch (near Culberson and Reeves counties) in the Permian Basin, with Longshore Switch (near Forsan and Big Spring counties) serving as a waystation between the beginning and end of the route.

Oncor, the utility leading the project, estimates that it will complete the first corridor from Dinosaur to Longshore by the end of 2028, with the final phase from Longshore to Drill Hole completed sometime in 2029. The project will cost roughly $4 billion.

The project’s culmination aligns with the massive expansion plans that Core Scientific, Cipher Digital, IREN, and others have in the region.

Now, the line isn’t necessary to sustain already approved power at these companies’ sites in the region, but it will be beneficial — if not essential — to unlocking the next wave of watts they have earmarked for expansion.

Core Scientific wants to expand its 300 MW Pecos site, for example, to as much as 1.5 GW, and the data center sits in Reeves County, putting it in the neighborhood of the line’s Drill Hole terminus.

Core Scientific plans to use some behind-the-meter generation at this site, but the additional line will no doubt be a welcome buff for CORZ’s power access in the area.

For Cipher Digital, its 200 MW expansion at Stingray — which resides right in the line’s path in Andrews County — is another beneficiary of the build. The company’s 500 MW expansion at Barber Lake stands to benefit as well, situated as it is in Mitchell County, directly in the Dinosaur-Longshore corridor.

Finally, the line runs through IREN’s home base for its Sweetwater campuses, Nolan County, and the neocloud has ~1.7 GW of expansion planned in 2028 and beyond across Sweetwater 1 and Sweetwater 2.

Still others could benefit from the new buildout, but these small case studies testify that the transmission line will go a long way toward derisking projects later in the decade, particularly those slated for 2028 onward and into 2030.

-CMH

Today, we open with an AI stock update with a specific focus on IREN, CIFR, and HUT. Then, Lygos Finance CEO Jay Patel joins to discuss Strategy’s first BTC buy since June, bitcoin ETF flows, and whether BTC is really trading like a debasement-trade asset. Finally, we cover the Public Utility Commission of Texas’ approval of the state’s first 765 kV transmission line to the Permian Basin – including which data center stocks are likely to benefit – and SpaceX’s move into turbine blade manufacturing. 

Public Utility Commission of Texas unanimously approved two Oncor transmission projects on Aug. 28, clearing more than 400 miles of 765-kV infrastructure intended to serve growing Permian Basin power demand, according to the Texas Tribune.

The Certificates of Convenience and Necessity cover the Dinosaur–Longshore and Longshore Switch–Drill Hole projects. Together, the segments form one of three planned 765-kV import paths under the Permian Basin Reliability Plan. Read more.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX may cast natural-gas turbine blades and vanes in-house as it expands its compute infrastructure, per a Saturday post from Musk.

The remark comes amidst discussion over capital expenditure and timelines for delivering turbines and other data center components. Musk said internal casting “can accelerate nat gas turbines coming online by up to 18 months.”

Longterm, Musk said SpaceX and Tesla are each pursuing solar-production capacity at a rate of 100 GW per year. Still, natural gas will remain necessary to support the buildout for several years, Musk added. Read more.

IREN (NASDAQ: IREN) CEO Dan Roberts said a projected $25-$30 billion in AI capital expenditure spending “isn’t an equity number,” according to a post Monday.

“The $25-30bn of forecasted FY27 capex isn’t an equity number,” co-founder and co-CEO Daniel Roberts said. “Customer prepayments can cover about half the GPU capex. Lenders can fund most of the rest.”

IREN forecasted FY27 capex spends in its recent quarterly results in which IREN’s net loss widened 176% sequentially to $684 million. Questions around how IREN would secure enough cash to fund the capex requirement swirled after the earnings call, with some investors fearful the firm may tap into equity financing plans such as an at the market offering (ATM) or further convertible note offerings. Read more.

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