Core Scientific Inc. is set to invest billions of dollars in overhauling its Bitcoin mining facility in North Texas, transforming it into a massive data center.
Core Scientific, which trades on the NASDAQ under the ticker CORZ, is pivoting its Bitcoin mining center to take advantage of the growing demand for data centers to support the latest tech trend: artificial intelligence. Despite opening the data center in Denton just three years ago, the digital infrastructure company will invest over $6 billion to overhaul the complex.
On November 19, the Denton City Council approved amendments for a power purchase agreement and land lease with Core Scientific. The city expects the expansion to generate more than $430 million in tax revenue over the next decade. Once operational, the new facility is slated for completion in 2027 and could employ 300 people.
Cryptocurrency, data centers, and artificial intelligence are buzzwords associated with aggressive growth. Unsurprisingly, Core Scientific’s stock price surged in 2024 despite the company filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2022. Since January 1, shares of CORZ have appreciated an astronomical 400+%.
Mining Bitcoin and operating data centers are both resource-intensive endeavors.
Texas’s ability to tap into low energy costs and business-friendly regulations has made It one of the largest crypto-mining hubs globally. In 2022, The Dallas Express reported that Core Scientific had to pull back on mining operations during the heat wave that blanketed the state that year.
Under the company’s original agreement with the city, Core Scientific leased roughly 31 acres and had access to 297 megawatts of power. Now, the company will lease nearly 79 acres of land owned by the City of Denton and secure access to 394 megawatts of power.
Core Scientific plans to build two substations on the property to support the data center.
“Denton has been home to one of our most advanced data centers, and now we expect it will host one of the largest GPU supercomputers in North America, powering artificial intelligence… We have had a great experience operating in Denton and are grateful for the strong support we’ve received from the city staff and community members. We look forward to continuing our partnership with the City of Denton as we expand our infrastructure to support high-performance computing,” Core Scientific CEO Adam Sullivan said in a statement.