Search
IDCNOVA

Soluna and Applied Digital to Develop 50MW Data Center in Texas, Lease Capacity to ChronoScale

By: IDCNOVARegion: North America
Soluna Holdings and Applied Digital have signed a definitive agreement to jointly develop a 50MW data center at Soluna's Project Dorothy 3 site near Silverton in Briscoe County, Texas, marking a significant step in the convergence of renewable energy infrastructure and AI computing capacity. The project site is located close to Soluna's Briscoe Wind Farm, underscoring a growing industry trend in which power access—rather than chip supply—has become the binding constraint on AI data center expansion.

Under the transaction agreement, Soluna is expected to contribute a portion of the Dorothy 3 site, including land and power-related project assets, to the joint venture company, while Applied Digital will provide capital to support project development. Phase I of Dorothy 3 is designed for 50MW of critical IT load and is expected to draw power from both the Briscoe Wind Farm and the grid. At full build-out, the site could reach 300MW of capacity. Applied Digital is expected to hold a 51 percent interest in the joint venture, with Soluna retaining the remaining 49 percent. The agreement is expected to close by the end of the year, subject to certain conditions including approval of a tax abatement for the project.

ChronoScale, the Nasdaq-listed AI cloud firm spun off from Applied Digital, has signed a non-binding letter of intent to lease the planned facility. The lease arrangement positions ChronoScale to expand its capacity pipeline, which currently totals 2.9GW across nine locations in the United States, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, with first sites due to go live in early 2027. "We have said for a long time that the constraint in AI is energy access, not chips," said John Belizaire, CEO of Soluna. "We built Soluna to bring load to the generation, so the power would be ready when the demand arrived. Partnering with Applied at Dorothy 3 puts that strategy to work: our site and wind power, combined with a proven builder and operator of AI data centers."

Soluna, originally a cryptocurrency mining firm that utilizes renewable energy projects as its primary power source, is pivoting toward AI data center development. The company operates more than 200MW of total capacity across five sites, with another eight data center sites in various stages of development totaling more than 1.5GW. Its two existing Dorothy campuses around Silverton—Dorothy I A and B totaling 50MW, and Dorothy II at 48MW—are dedicated to crypto mining and largely powered by the neighboring wind farm. Soluna acquired the Briscoe Wind Farm in April for $53 million and purchased 400 acres of land for Dorothy 3 in August.

The partnership comes as ChronoScale reported quarterly revenues of $41.5 million for its Q1 2027 fiscal period, with a net loss of $26.4 million and adjusted EBITDA of $5.9 million. During the quarter, the company signed a 50MW computing deal with Microsoft for deployment of Nvidia's GB300 NVL72 hardware, along with a contract extension with an existing AI infrastructure customer and an agreement with a new customer. ChronoScale said these deals will take its annual revenues to $1 billion by Q3 2027. Applied Digital separately reported revenues of $341.9 million, a net loss of $221 million, and adjusted EBITDA of $64.4 million. To date, Applied Digital has leases for approximately 1.41GW of critical IT load across five campuses: Polaris Forge 1, 2, and 3 in North Dakota; Delta Forge 1 in Louisiana; and Delta Forge 2 in Alabama, with the first two buildings totaling around 250MW already live at Polaris Forge 1.

The joint venture reflects a broader industry shift in which energy companies and data center developers are increasingly collaborating to bring generation and load online in tandem, as AI-driven demand for computing capacity continues to outpace available power infrastructure across major markets.