Riot’s $9.1B AI Lease Puts Power Access Back in Focus — August 20, 2026

Riot Platforms’ 191 MW Rockdale AI lease adds another multibillion-dollar compute deal to Texas, while Arizona co-ops formalize large-load reviews and OpenAI’s Stargate ambitions keep stretching the grid-planning horizon. In this episode: Top stories: 1. Foley Represents Riot Platforms on $9.1B AI Data Center Lease at Rockdale Campus — Foley & Lardner LLP https://www.foley.com/news/2026/08/foley-represents-riot-platforms-on-9-1b-ai-data-center-lease-at-rockdale-campus/ 2. Electric co-ops get Corporation Commission OK on new process for large power users – GilaValleyCentral — GilaValleyCentral https://gilavalleycentral.net/electric-co-ops-get-corporation-commission-ok-on-new-process-for-large-power-users/ 3. Building Stargate: Talking to OpenAI about its trillion-dollar data center vision - DCD — DataCenter Dynamics https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/analysis/openai-building-stargate-nvidia-oracle-chatgpt 4. Not only Hyperscalers: Soon BYOP Will Be Accessible for Everyone — EnergyCentral https://www.energycentral.com/energy-management/post/not-only-hyperscalers-soon-byop-will-be-accessible-for-everyone-8CLsKXIKON5n4u6 5. Inevitable: Aalo Atomics on Beating the Odds to Reach Criticality — Inevitable https://cdn.simplecast.com/media/audio/transcoded/78a97c6c-cb51-46aa-a214-65daa2554af6/a40ab607-6c05-44d6-b237-5cd4abd47ac6/episodes/audio/group/1fc4ffdc-6271-464a-8bb7-fc372f4c8e46/group-item/7a9cf978-955d-4ae3-bd1b-3a5c32698efc/128_default_tc.mp3?aid=rss_feed&feed=XFfCG1w8 Follow and rate The Data Center Daily on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Feedback? Email [email protected]