IREN Is Building Out Its AI Power Footprint: 2GW Sweetwater Hub Gets Conditional ERCOT Status

• ERCOT status is essential for data centers to connect to the Texas grid.
• The Sweetwater Hub consists of the 1.4 GW Sweetwater 1 and 600 MW Sweetwater 2 projects.
• Additional large-scale projects have also been included in ERCOT’s Batch Zero process, although IREN did not identify them.

IREN (IREN) was in the spotlight on Tuesday after the company announced that its massive Sweetwater data center project has cleared an important step toward securing the electricity needed to support its expansion in Texas.

The company said its 2-gigawatt (GW) Sweetwater Hub has been conditionally included as ‘Base Load’ in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ (ERCOT) Batch Zero process. This implies an early grid-review process for a facility expected to use a large amount of electricity. ERCOT manages the power grid serving most of Texas.

ERCOT status is important because data centers need to secure approvals to connect to the Texas grid. However, IREN added that the classification remains conditional and is subject to further approvals.

IREN shares were up 1.5% in pre-market trading, tracking a fourth straight session of gains.

IREN’s Portfolio Exceeds 5GW

The Sweetwater Hub consists of the 1.4 GW Sweetwater 1 and 600 megawatt (MW) Sweetwater 2 projects. At Sweetwater 1, IREN energized its high-voltage substation earlier this year and is currently building 300 MW of data center capacity, with delivery targeted for the fourth quarter of 2027.

The 2 GW campus is part of IREN’s announced global data center development portfolio of more than 5 GW, providing substantial room for future AI infrastructure expansion.

More Projects Included In Grid Process

IREN said additional large-scale projects in its development pipeline have also been included in ERCOT’s Batch Zero process, although it did not identify them. The company plans to add those sites to its formally announced development portfolio once it signs the relevant grid-connection agreements.

That could expand IREN’s pipeline beyond the more than 5 GW as the company builds out infrastructure to meet growing demand for AI computing capacity.

IREN Bulls Eye $75

Retail sentiment surrounding IREN on Stocktwits remained ‘bullish’ over the past 24 hours.

One user expects the stock to rise to $75, a 66% upside from current levels.

IREN shares have gained around 5% so far this year.

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