IREN, a large-scale data center operator building facilities for AI and high-performance computing, said that the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has conditionally included its 2 GW Sweetwater Hub in West Texas as Base Load in the grid operator’s Batch Zero process.
The Sweetwater Hub is spread across two sites. Sweetwater 1 is the larger site, sitting on 1,700 acres with an expected power capacity of 1,400 MW when construction is complete. Sweetwater 2 will sit on 500 acres with an expected power capacity of 600 MW.
As noted in a press release, IREN energized a high-voltage substation at Sweetwater 1 earlier this year and 300 MW of data center capacity is expected to be delivered by Q4 2027. The company said that other large-scale projects in its broader development pipeline have also been included in Batch Zero. These projects will be included in IREN’s development portfolio once the relevant grid connection agreements have been executed.
IREN is one of several data center operators and developers that have received conditional Base Load classification from ERCOT. Hut 8’s Beacon Point 1 GW AI data center project was also included per a statement from the firm last week. Earlier this week both CleanSpark and Galaxy Digital Inc. announced they had received conditional inclusion for 585 MW and 4.2 GW respectively.
Batch Zero is a new approval process being implemented by ERCOT for large electricity users. The process ensures these users, including data centers, only connect to the Texas grid where it is feasible to do so. This is determined through a study where large projects requesting 75 MW or more from the grid are examined all at once to gauge future electricity demand, allocate capacity, and identify where transmission upgrades are required.
The process was approved by the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) in June 2026.
“Texas is experiencing an energy transformation unlike anything we have seen before,” said Pablo Vegas, ERCOT President and Chief Executive Officer. “This new process represents a fundamental shift in how ERCOT manages the significant growth of large load interconnection, providing a structured, transparent path forward that protects reliability for Texans while supporting the state’s continued economic growth.”
As of June, ERCOT is tracking over 438,000 MW of large load requests, nearly 89 percent of which are for data centers. West Texas, where IREN’s Sweetwater Hub is located, has emerged as a prime destination for data center developments, according to a CBRE report w.media reported on in July. The region has ample land and power availability, setting it up for wholesale supply and absorption in 2026.