Core Scientific Buys Polaris Bitcoin Mine for $421M Oklahoma AI Power Expansion
This article first appeared in The Energy Mag. The original article can be viewed here. Energy Mag (formerly Mining Mag) provides news, information and insights on the energy-calculation-market nexus.
The company said Tuesday it plans to grow its Muskogee, Oklahoma campus to 1.5 gigawatts of total power, or nearly 1 gigawatt of leased capacity, through a combination of acquisitions, grid expansion and behind-the-meter generation strategies.
At the center of the expansion is Core Scientific's agreement to acquire Polaris DS LLC, a Bitcoin mining The operator controls 440 megawatts of power through Oklahoma Gas & Electric's website is already fully operational, allowing for faster delivery times for future AI customers compared to greenfield developments that can take years to secure utility approvals and transmission access.
The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and other conditions.
It shows how big the deal is Bitcoin mining Campuses — originally built for power-intensive cryptocurrency operations — are becoming strategic targets in the race for AI infrastructure because they already have scarce grid access, substations, and high-capacity electrical infrastructure.
Core Scientific said construction has begun on a second, currently unleased 82.5MW building at its Muskogee campus, expected in the fourth quarter of 2027.
The Polaris acquisition will add approximately 40 acres to Core Scientific's current Muskogee operations, including substation and electric service agreements with OG&E. Under the deal, Core itself will not acquire Polaris' active mining business. Instead, existing operations, employees, customer contracts and intellectual property will be transferred prior to closing in a pre-closing reorganization.
Core Scientific said the existing mine will continue to be phased out under a temporary lease arrangement through mid-2028, while the company gradually recalculates the site for future high density.
If Polaris acquires an additional 40MW of solid electric capacity in a 2026 utility agreement amendment, the purchase price could reach up to $461 million.
The deal will see Core Scientific deposit $120 million associated with the acquisition, including an initial deposit of $120 million previously made in January. The company said the transaction will be funded using available funds.
The Muskogee expansion represents a second major campus that Core Scientific CEO Adam Sullivan describes as a “multi-tiered” scaling strategy that combines discovery, development expertise and off-the-meter energy solutions.
The approach reflects a broader trend in the AI infrastructure sector, where operators are adding existing bitcoin mining sites to bypass long resource connection queues and speed up deployment times for advanced AI clients.
Core Scientific has turned out to be one of the most powerful bitcoin miners entering the AI infrastructure. The company previously announced plans to convert its Pecos, Texas campus into a 1.5 GW data center development with 1 GW of leased capacity for high-density customers.
The company is building several CoreWeave-connected data center projects after signing long-term HPC hosting agreements with the AI cloud provider. Recent bond filings show Core Scientific and CoreWeave will spend roughly $5.5 billion to develop six data centers at five sites in the first half of 2027.
Oklahoma officials are promoting the state as a destination for AI and energy-intensive computing projects. Gov. Kevin Stitt said Core Scientific's expansion shows that new behind-the-meter laws and energy policies are helping to attract large-scale infrastructure investment to the state.
This article first appeared in The Energy Mag. The original article can be viewed here. Energy Mag (formerly Mining Mag) provides news, information and insights on the energy-calculation-market nexus.
