West Texas data center development is increasingly becoming a grid-planning story. IREN’s latest Sweetwater update shows how large AI infrastructure projects are being evaluated not only by campus scale, but also by transmission access, substation readiness, and their position inside ERCOT’s growing large-load pipeline.
IREN announced that its 2 GW Sweetwater Hub, comprising Sweetwater 1 and Sweetwater 2, has been conditionally included in ERCOT’s Batch Zero process as Base Load. Sweetwater 1 represents 1.4 GW, while Sweetwater 2 adds another 600 MW.
Base Load status means ERCOT treats the load as already studied and includes it in its planning baseline, rather than sending it through additional study in Batch Zero. That is a meaningful step toward grid access, although ERCOT’s classification remains conditional and subject to ongoing approval processes.
The development is already moving beyond planning. IREN said the high-voltage substation at Sweetwater 1 was energized earlier in 2026, while construction continues on 300 MW of gross data center capacity, with delivery targeted for Q4 2027.
The map powered by Rextag Energy DataLink places Sweetwater 1 and Sweetwater 2 within the wider West Texas power and data center environment. It shows operational 345+ kV and 138+ kV transmission lines, operational natural gas-fired power plants, operational battery storage, and operational and under-development data centers across the region.
That context matters because a 2 GW data center hub cannot be understood only as a campus development. Transmission corridors, grid nodes, nearby generation, and competing large-load projects all shape the regional infrastructure picture around Sweetwater. The same map shows other data center activity across the region, including operational data centers around Abilene, roughly 40 miles east.
The map does not imply that every nearby power plant, transmission line, or data center is directly connected to IREN’s projects. Those layers are shown to illustrate the broader infrastructure environment in which the Sweetwater Hub is being developed.
Why it matters
· IREN’s Sweetwater Hub totals 2 GW of announced data center capacity.
· Sweetwater 1: 1.4 GW.
· Sweetwater 2: 600 MW.
· The hub has been conditionally included in ERCOT Batch Zero as Base Load.
· Sweetwater 1’s high-voltage substation is energized.
· 300 MW of data center capacity is under construction.
· Delivery is targeted for Q4 2027.
· ERCOT classification remains conditional.
What the map shows
A West Texas infrastructure view centered on IREN’s Sweetwater Hub.
· Sweetwater 1
· Sweetwater 2
· operational 345+ kV transmission lines
· operational 138+ kV transmission lines
· operational natural gas-fired power plants
· operational data centers
· under-development data centers
· operational battery storage projects
Project locations are shown approximately. Surrounding infrastructure is provided for context and does not imply IREN ownership or direct connection unless specifically identified.
A deeper dive with Energy DataLink
Using Rextag Energy DataLink, users can compare planned data center projects with transmission corridors, nearby generation, and other data center developments in one mapped view. That helps teams understand how large-load projects fit into the broader power infrastructure landscape around them.
