IREN Secures 2.75GW for Data Centers in West Texas with New 600MW Grid Connection Agreement

Rhea-AI Summary

IREN has announced signing a 600MW grid connection agreement for Sweetwater 2, enhancing its 2GW Sweetwater data center hub in West Texas. This addition brings IREN's total West Texas capacity to 2.75GW of fully contracted power.

The Sweetwater 2 facility features:

• Strategic location across 500+ acres near existing 1.4GW Sweetwater 1
• Connection costs of $4.1M non-refundable and $26.9M in refundable deposits over 12 months
• Expected energization by late 2027

The West Texas location offers advantages including access to renewable energy, multiple fiber connections with ~6ms latency to Dallas, and efficient water usage through closed-loop liquid cooling. IREN is actively engaging with AI and cloud computing firms, with Sweetwater 1 scheduled for energization in April 2026.

Positive

• Secured additional 600MW of contracted power capacity
• Strategic expansion of data center infrastructure to 2.75GW total capacity
• Established presence in renewable energy market with low-cost electricity
• Advanced fiber connectivity with low latency (6ms to Dallas)
• Water-efficient cooling technology reducing operational costs

Negative

• Significant upfront costs: $31M total in connection costs and deposits
• Long wait time for operations - Sweetwater 2 won't be energized until late 2027
• Substantial development risks and potential delays in construction and deployment

Insights

Financial Infrastructure Analyst

IREN's 600MW grid connection agreement for Sweetwater 2 represents a significant expansion of their data center infrastructure in West Texas, bringing their total secured power capacity to 2.75GW. This binding agreement involves $4.1 million in non-refundable connection costs and $26.9 million in refundable deposits over 12 months, demonstrating substantial financial commitment.

The strategic value lies in IREN securing contracted power capacity rather than speculative pipeline - a critical differentiator in the data center industry where many competitors announce theoretical capacity without binding agreements. West Texas offers compelling advantages: abundant renewable energy, diverse fiber connectivity, low latency (~6ms to Dallas), and water efficiency through closed-loop cooling.

While power capacity is secured, customer contracts aren't mentioned in the announcement - only that IREN is "actively engaging with global AI and cloud computing firms." The extended timeline (Sweetwater 1 energization in April 2026, Sweetwater 2 in late 2027) means this expansion represents longer-term positioning rather than immediate revenue.

This move strengthens IREN's competitive positioning in high-performance computing infrastructure, particularly for AI workloads. The clear execution strategy, binding agreements, transparent financial commitments, and strategic location selection all indicate this expansion enhances IREN's growth trajectory.

Data Center Infrastructure Specialist

The 600MW Sweetwater 2 agreement positions IREN in the upper tier of data center operators by secured power capacity. The combined 2.75GW West Texas footprint is particularly noteworthy as it represents fully contracted capacity - not theoretical or pending agreements.

The strategic site selection demonstrates sophisticated infrastructure planning. West Texas offers a rare combination of abundant renewable energy, multiple fiber pathways, low latency positioning (~6ms to Dallas), and water conservation advantages. The >500 acre Sweetwater 2 site complements the existing 1.4GW Sweetwater 1 facility, creating a 2GW data center hub with planned direct fiber connectivity between sites.

The specified connection costs ($4.1M non-refundable, $26.9M refundable deposits) provide transparency into development economics. The 12-month deposit schedule suggests a phased, disciplined capital deployment approach.

Most significantly, IREN is positioning this infrastructure specifically for AI workloads. The liquid cooling implementation addresses the thermal management challenges of high-density AI computing. By emphasizing "real, deliverable capacity" versus competitors' "speculative pipelines," IREN is differentiating on execution certainty - critical for hyperscale customers planning AI infrastructure deployment.

While actual customer agreements aren't announced yet, this secured power capacity represents the essential foundation for data center operations and significantly de-risks IREN's expansion strategy.

SYDNEY, March 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- IREN Limited (NASDAQ: IREN) (together with its subsidiaries, “IREN”), today announced the signing of a 600MW grid connection agreement for Sweetwater 2, advancing its 2GW Sweetwater data center hub in West Texas.

“Securing this additional 600MW further solidifies our competitive position as a leader in scalable data center infrastructure,” said Daniel Roberts, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of IREN.

“While many talk about MW pipelines, our 2.75GW in West Texas is fully contracted, minimizing development risk and ensuring real, deliverable capacity.”

Why West Texas?

• Power: One of the world’s largest renewable energy markets, offering scalable, low-cost electricity
• Fiber connectivity: Multiple high-bandwidth, physically diverse fiber paths
• Low latency: ~6ms to Dallas, optimizing AI and cloud workloads
• Water efficiency: Closed-loop liquid cooling significantly reduces water use

Sweetwater 2: Key Highlights

• 600MW power secured: Under a binding grid connection agreement - real, contracted capacity
• Strategic location: >500 acres near existing 1.4GW Sweetwater 1 (~28 miles) and Abilene (~39 miles)
• 2GW Sweetwater hub: Direct fiber loop being designed to link Sweetwater 1 & 2
• Connection costs: $4.1 million in non-refundable connection costs, $26.9 million in refundable deposits over 12 months
• Energization date: Late 2027

Positioning for AI

IREN is actively engaging with global AI and cloud computing firms to align its infrastructure with market demand.

Our secured power and scalable infrastructure set us apart from speculative development pipelines.

The next phase includes fiber interconnections, data center colocation agreements, and procurement in preparation for energization of Sweetwater 1 in April 2026 and Sweetwater 2 in 2027.

IREN will continue to provide updates as key milestones are achieved.

Sweetwater Data Center Hub
 

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or IREN’s future financial or operating performance. For example, forward-looking statements include but are not limited to IREN’s business strategy, expected operational and financial results, and expected increase in power capacity and hashrate. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “may,” “can,” “should,” “could,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “project,” “strive,” “budget,” “forecast,” “expect,” “intend,” “target”, “will,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue,” “scheduled” or the negatives of these terms or variations of them or similar terminology, but the absence of these words does not mean that statement is not forward-looking. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In addition, any statements or information that refer to expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, performance or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking.

These forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations and beliefs. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause IREN’s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward looking statements, including, but not limited to: Bitcoin price and foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations; IREN’s ability to obtain additional capital on commercially reasonable terms and in a timely manner to meet its capital needs and facilitate its expansion plans; the terms of any future financing or any refinancing, restructuring or modification to the terms of any future financing, which could require IREN to comply with onerous covenants or restrictions, and its ability to service its debt obligations, any of which could restrict its business operations and adversely impact its financial condition, cash flows and results of operations; IREN’s ability to successfully execute on its growth strategies and operating plans, including its ability to continue to develop its existing data center sites, including to design and deploy direct-to-chip liquid cooling systems, and to diversify and expand into the market for high performance computing (“HPC”) solutions it may offer (including the market for cloud services (“AI Cloud Services”) and potential colocation services; IREN’s limited experience with respect to new markets it has entered or may seek to enter, including the market for HPC solutions (including AI Cloud Services and potential colocation services); expectations with respect to the ongoing profitability, viability, operability, security, popularity and public perceptions of the Bitcoin network; expectations with respect to the profitability, viability, operability, security, popularity and public perceptions of any current and future HPC solutions (including AI Cloud Services and potential colocation services) that IREN offers; IREN’s ability to secure and retain customers on commercially reasonable terms or at all, particularly as it relates to its strategy to expand into markets for HPC solutions (including AI Cloud Services and potential colocation services); IREN’s ability to manage counterparty risk (including credit risk) associated with any current or future customers, including customers of its HPC solutions (including AI Cloud Services and potential colocation services) and other counterparties; the risk that any current or future customers, including customers of its HPC solutions (including AI Cloud Services and potential colocation services), or other counterparties may terminate, default on or underperform their contractual obligations; Bitcoin global hashrate fluctuations; IREN’s ability to secure renewable energy, renewable energy certificates, power capacity, facilities and sites on commercially reasonable terms or at all; delays associated with, or failure to obtain or complete, permitting approvals, grid connections and other development activities customary for greenfield or brownfield infrastructure projects; IREN’s reliance on power and utilities providers, third party mining pools, exchanges, banks, insurance providers and its ability to maintain relationships with such parties; expectations regarding availability and pricing of electricity; IREN’s participation and ability to successfully participate in demand response products and services and other load management programs run, operated or offered by electricity network operators, regulators or electricity market operators; the availability, reliability and/or cost of electricity supply, hardware and electrical and data center infrastructure, including with respect to any electricity outages and any laws and regulations that may restrict the electricity supply available to IREN; any variance between the actual operating performance of IREN’s miner hardware achieved compared to the nameplate performance including hashrate; IREN’s ability to curtail its electricity consumption and/or monetize electricity depending on market conditions, including changes in Bitcoin mining economics and prevailing electricity prices; actions undertaken by electricity network and market operators, regulators, governments or communities in the regions in which IREN operates; the availability, suitability, reliability and cost of internet connections at IREN’s facilities; IREN’s ability to secure additional hardware, including hardware for Bitcoin mining and any current or future HPC solutions (including AI Cloud Services and potential colocation services) it offers, on commercially reasonable terms or at all, and any delays or reductions in the supply of such hardware or increases in the cost of procuring such hardware; expectations with respect to the useful life and obsolescence of hardware (including hardware for Bitcoin mining as well as hardware for other applications, including any current or future HPC solutions (including AI Cloud Services and potential colocation services) IREN offers); delays, increases in costs or reductions in the supply of equipment used in IREN’s operations; IREN’s ability to operate in an evolving regulatory environment; IREN’s ability to successfully operate and maintain its property and infrastructure; reliability and performance of IREN’s infrastructure compared to expectations; malicious attacks on IREN’s property, infrastructure or IT systems; IREN’s ability to maintain in good standing the operating and other permits and licenses required for its operations and business; IREN’s ability to obtain, maintain, protect and enforce its intellectual property rights and confidential information; any intellectual property infringement and product liability claims; whether the secular trends IREN expects to drive growth in its business materialize to the degree it expects them to, or at all; any pending or future acquisitions, dispositions, joint ventures or other strategic transactions; the occurrence of any environmental, health and safety incidents at IREN’s sites, and any material costs relating to environmental, health and safety requirements or liabilities; damage to IREN’s property and infrastructure and the risk that any insurance IREN maintains may not fully cover all potential exposures; ongoing proceedings relating to the default by two of IREN’s wholly-owned special purpose vehicles under limited recourse equipment financing facilities; ongoing securities litigation relating in part to the default, and any future litigation, claims and/or regulatory investigations, and the costs, expenses, use of resources, diversion of management time and efforts, liability and damages that may result therefrom; IREN’s failure to comply with any laws including the anti-corruption laws of the United States and various international jurisdictions; any failure of IREN’s compliance and risk management methods; any laws, regulations and ethical standards that may relate to IREN’s business, including those that relate to Bitcoin and the Bitcoin mining industry and those that relate to any other services it offers, including laws and regulations related to data privacy, cybersecurity and the storage, use or processing of information and consumer laws; IREN’s ability to attract, motivate and retain senior management and qualified employees; increased risks to IREN’s global operations including, but not limited to, political instability, acts of terrorism, theft and vandalism, cyberattacks and other cybersecurity incidents and unexpected regulatory and economic sanctions changes, among other things; climate change, severe weather conditions and natural and man-made disasters that may materially adversely affect IREN’s business, financial condition and results of operations; public health crises, including an outbreak of an infectious disease and any governmental or industry measures taken in response; IREN’s ability to remain competitive in dynamic and rapidly evolving industries; damage to IREN’s brand and reputation; expectations relating to Environmental, Social or Governance issues or reporting; the costs of being a public company; the increased regulatory and compliance costs of IREN ceasing to be a foreign private issuer and an emerging growth company, as a result of which it will be required, among other things, to file periodic reports and registration statements on U.S. domestic issuer forms with the SEC commencing with its next fiscal year, and it will also be required to prepare its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP rather than IFRS, and to modify certain of its policies to comply with corporate governance practices required of a U.S. domestic issuer; that IREN does not currently pay any cash dividends on its ordinary shares, and may not in the foreseeable future and, accordingly, the ability to achieve a return on an investment in its ordinary shares will depend on appreciation, if any, in the price of its ordinary shares; and other important factors discussed under the caption “Risk Factors” in IREN’s annual report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC on August 28, 2024 as such factors may be updated from time to time in its other filings with the SEC, accessible on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and the Investor Relations section of IREN’s website at https://investors.iren.com.

These and other important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this investor update. Any forward-looking statement that IREN makes in this investor update speaks only as of the date of such statement. Except as required by law, IREN disclaims any obligation to update or revise, or to publicly announce any update or revision to, any of the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About IREN

IREN is a leading data center business powering the future of Bitcoin, AI and beyond utilizing 100% renewable energy.

• Bitcoin Mining: providing security to the Bitcoin network, expanding to 52 EH/s in 2025. Operations since 2019.
• AI Cloud Services: providing cloud compute to AI customers, 1,896 NVIDIA H100 & H200 GPUs. Operations since 2024.
• Next-Generation Data Centers: 510MW of operating data centers, expanding to 910MW in 2025. Specifically designed and purpose-built infrastructure for high-performance and power-dense computing applications.
• Technology: technology stack for performance optimization of AI Cloud Services and Bitcoin Mining operations.
• Development Portfolio: 2,910MW of grid-connected power secured across North America, >2,000 acre property portfolio and multi-gigawatt development pipeline.
• 100% Renewable Energy (from clean or renewable energy sources or through the purchase of RECs): targets sites with low-cost & underutilized renewable energy, and supports electrical grids and local communities.

Contacts

Media Jon Snowball Sodali & Co +61 477 946 068 +61 423 136 761 Gillian Roberts Aircover Communications +1 818 395 2948 gillian.roberts@aircoverpr.com	Investors Lincoln Tan IREN +61 407 423 395 lincoln.tan@iren.com

To keep updated on IREN’s news releases and SEC filings, please subscribe to email alerts at https://iren.com/investor/ir-resources/email-alerts.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at:
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e8788af3-4ad4-4387-a425-79027331f8b1

FAQ

What is the total power capacity secured by IREN in West Texas after the new agreement?

IREN has secured 2.75GW of fully contracted power capacity in West Texas, following the addition of 600MW for Sweetwater 2.

When will IREN's Sweetwater 1 and Sweetwater 2 data centers become operational?

Sweetwater 1 is scheduled for energization in April 2026, while Sweetwater 2 is expected to be energized in late 2027.

How much is IREN investing in connection costs for Sweetwater 2?

IREN is investing $4.1 million in non-refundable connection costs and $26.9 million in refundable deposits over 12 months.

What are the key infrastructure advantages of IREN's West Texas data center location?

The location offers access to renewable energy, multiple fiber connections with 6ms latency to Dallas, and water-efficient closed-loop liquid cooling systems.