Finally, somebody put demand on paper they can't walk away from. Now the grid gets a vote. The Data Center Daily. Today we've got a Malaysian term sheet, a Samsung check to Helix, and a construction win in Gunsan. Question is, which ones actually get built? Plus Pallone leaning on FERC over PJM. But first, Anthropic. A non-cancelable bill still needs megawatts behind it. Shane Snider, writing in TechTarget:
Anthropic has reportedly committed at least $518 billion to infrastructure over the next decade, with roughly 80% of those commitments either non-cancelable or payable regardless of actual usage, a potential boon for data centers that also comes with caveats. Those numbers were part of Anthropic's IPO prospectus as reported by Reuters this week.
Okay, I'll say it. I like this one. Anthropic's prospectus, per Reuters: five hundred eighteen billion in commitments, and roughly eighty percent is non-cancelable or payable whether they use the capacity or not. That's a bill, with counterparties on it. With sizes, too. A hundred eleven billion with Google, a hundred ten with Amazon, thirty-one point four with Microsoft, and a hundred sixty-one billion in mostly non-cancelable equipment leases with Broadcom. Biggest line on the sheet is Broadcom. Didn't have that on my card. And the risk just moves around. HyperFrame's Stephen Sopko put it well in the TechTarget piece: you swap demand risk for counterparty risk. Yeah, and take-or-pay pays the landlord. Doesn't pull one amp through a transformer. Somebody's still sitting in an interconnection queue behind all that paper. So the contract's real. The in-service date is somebody else's problem. Even the xAI piece, up to eighty-four and a half billion in Nvidia capacity, runs through 2029. I'll believe the megawatts when they're energized. Here's Samsung Global Newsroom:
Samsung Electronics, Samsung C&T, Samsung SDS, Samsung SDI, Samsung Life Insurance and Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance today announced they are investing a combined USD 1 billion in Helix Digital Infrastructure, an AI infrastructure company established by global investment firm KKR.
Samsung's putting a billion dollars into KKR's Helix. Half from Samsung Electronics, and the rest split across five affiliates, including a life insurer and a fire-and-marine insurer. So the chip guys and the actuaries both want a piece of AI power. Look at the affiliate list, though. C&T builds things, SDI makes batteries, SDS runs IT, Electronics sells memory. It's a supplier buying an equity seat at a future customer's table. Yeah, and it's a good table. KKR launched Helix in June, Adam Selipsky's running it after leaving AWS, and Vistra's in there as a founding investor. Vistra's the one name on that list that actually runs power plants today. Which matters, because Helix's pitch covers everything: data halls, baseload and flexible generation, transmission, fiber. And remember, most of the Anthropic money was reportedly non-cancelable. This one's equity. It funds a company. I still want a site, a megawatt number, and an interconnection date before I call it buildout. Here's ROI-NJ:
Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ) wrote to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on Sept. 28, urging the commission to use its authority to approve and strengthen recent proposals from PJM Interconnection on how it handles data centers.
Okay, Pallone to FERC Chair Laura Swett, dated September 28. He wants PJM's large-load rules toughened. Fuller cost allocation, permanent new-generation requirements, and a public registry. A registry! Imagine a data center fight where the numbers aren't locked in a room only Meta and Entergy get into. Imagine it harder, because it's a letter. He's ranking member, the minority seat on Energy and Commerce. FERC can read it, nod, and file it. What's actually on the docket is PJM's August filing, the bring-your-own-power framework for large loads. Sure, but he's pushing on the right lever. 'Bring your own power' sounds great right up until the self-supply slips and the backup capacity lands on everybody's bill across thirteen states and D.C. And New Jersey's already ahead of him on paper. Sherrill signed semi-annual water and energy reporting to the BPU back in August. So a state's got a mandate on the books while the federal version is still a request. Watch the FERC order, not the letterhead. Here's I3investor:
G3nerasi Kinta Sdn Bhd (GKinta) entered into a term sheet for a 21-year Bilateral Energy Supply Contract (BESC) with a US-based multinational technology company where electricity will be supplied to the customer’s data centres under the Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme (CRESS). The project involves a hybrid utility-scale solar photovoltaic plant with a minimum net capacity of 680MWac in Perak, supported by a four-hour battery energy storage system (BESS).
Twenty-one years of power to a 'US-based multinational technology company.' With Anthropic you could actually see the cancellation terms. Now we're back to a mystery guest. And it's a term sheet. Minimum 680 megawatts AC of solar in Perak, four-hour battery, operation targeted for 2029. The actual supply contract isn't due until first quarter '27, and it's still subject to Tenaga's access agreement and the CRESS approvals. Four hours of storage. The data hall runs twenty-four. So what's carrying it overnight, or through a cloudy week? Tenaga's grid, that's what. Which makes that access agreement the part to watch, more than the 21 years. Though I'll give it this: RM10 billion-plus in gross revenue, three-way JV with Gamuda Energy and Gentari. And even the analyst keeping a Buy call says no material near-term earnings impact. It's a 2029 story. From Kim Kwang-soo at Seoul Economic Daily:
The Gunsan SGC AI Data Center project will build a data center on a 115,702-square-meter site in Bieungdo-dong, Gunsan. The total project value is about 870 billion won ($625 million), with groundbreaking planned for October. The project is the first phase of a 300 MW AI data center cluster being developed by client SGC Group.
Okay, finally something with a shovel attached. Hyundai Engineering, 60 megawatts in Gunsan, 870 billion won, groundbreaking in October. Somebody's pouring concrete next month. And unlike Samsung's billion into Helix, this one comes with a site. 115,702 square meters in Bieungdo-dong. Back of the envelope, about $625 million over 60 megawatts is north of ten million a megawatt. That's Vera Rubin rack density showing up in the budget. And look at the split. Hyundai's on cooling towers, chillers, switchgear. KT Cloud's got UPS, batteries, controls. That's a real MEP scope, the stuff I'd actually want to walk before energization. Just keep the 300 megawatts in perspective. SGC's cluster is 300, and the contract's for 60. On the 240 MW follow-on, Hyundai says it 'expects' priority negotiating rights. Expects. For a unit it only stood up in March, the first award is what's actually on paper. If you're enjoying The Data Center Daily, please subscribe or leave us a review wherever you're listening. Reviews help other people find the show, and your support helps us keep bringing you the latest each day.
We're watching for Hyundai Engineering's targeted October groundbreaking on the 60 MW first phase of SGC's Gunsan AI data center. And on the GKinta 680MWac Perak solar-plus-storage contract, we're watching for the definitive BESC and CRESS agreements, targeted for the first quarter of 2027 and subject to Tenaga Nasional access approval.
Links to every story are in the show notes, so take a look at the ones you'd like to explore further. That's The Data Center Daily for today. This is a Lantern Podcast.