Oracle's 1.3 GW Wisconsin AI campus set to miss 2027 target, Aterio says

What is happening

Oracle's planned AI data center campus in Port Washington, Wisconsin, is likely to miss its target of serving customers in the second half of 2027. Its connection to the power grid has not been approved yet. Research firm Aterio made the forecast, as reported by The Register.

The campus is called Project Lighthouse. Vantage is building it, and Oracle will be the tenant. It is designed for 902 MW of computing load, the power drawn by the servers. Its total electricity demand is 1.3 GW. One megawatt (MW) is a million watts, and a gigawatt (GW) is a thousand megawatts.

The holdup: a power line permit

The campus needs new transmission lines, the high-voltage cables that carry power over long distances, plus substations, which step that power down for use. American Transmission Company (ATC) would build them. But it needs approval first from the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, the state's utility regulator.

The commission closed the original case after withdrawing its finding that ATC's application was complete. ATC filed again in September, which restarted the process. ATC is planning more than $2bn of power line work linked to data center projects across the state.

When power could arrive

Aterio's main forecast has some power arriving in December 2027 and full supply in October 2028. Its earliest scenario is some power in October 2027 and full power in August 2028, but it calls that highly unlikely. A longer review could push the dates to June 2028 and April 2029.

First power does not mean the campus is open. Each building's electrical and cooling systems must be switched on and tested first. So Aterio expects use to ramp up mainly from the first quarter of 2028.

Money pressure on Oracle

The delay comes as Oracle's finances are stretched. The Register has reported that Oracle could face more than $100m a year in financing costs to guarantee the power deals behind the campus.

Oracle spent $55.7bn on capital expenditure, money for long-term assets like buildings and equipment, in fiscal 2026. Its revenue that year was $67.4bn. It expects to spend up to $95bn in fiscal 2027.

Separately, Bloomberg reported that Oracle sent a force majeure notice about Project Jupiter in New Mexico. Such a notice claims events outside a company's control. Oracle is seeking to delay payments if that campus is late. Oracle says Jupiter is still on schedule.

What to watch next

The key unknown is how long the commission will take to review ATC's new application. Oracle had been offered the chance to comment.