• Nvidia will provide credit support for the first 4.25GW of planned IT capacity, with an option covering the remaining 3.75GW
  • OpenAI holds a 20-year lease for the 8GW programme, with first phased capacity targeted from 2028 and at least 10GW of new generation planned

The fact

SB Energy said Nvidia will provide credit support for the initial 4.25GW of IT capacity at the proposed PORTS-Pike AI infrastructure campus in Ohio. Nvidia has an option to extend that support to the remaining 3.75GW of the planned 8GW programme.

OpenAI is identified as the customer under a 20-year lease, while Nvidia is also investing $1.5bn in SB Energy. SB Energy says the project will be supported by at least 10GW of new generation and $4.2bn of regional grid infrastructure, alongside an $80m community-benefits programme. The first phases are targeted to come online from 2028.

Generation assets, substations, transmission upgrades, data halls, cooling systems and semiconductor supply still have to be financed, permitted, built and commissioned. The announcement does not provide a complete project cost, generation mix or phase-by-phase construction schedule.

The assessment

The agreement brings the customer lease, developer financing and Nvidia's credit support into the same first 4.25GW tranche. That can give lenders and suppliers clearer contractual visibility over who is supporting demand and equipment deployment, but it does not remove the physical delivery work needed before capacity can enter service.

The 4.25GW figure is planned IT capacity rather than existing electrical supply. SB Energy's wider plan calls for at least 10GW of new generation and substantial grid investment, so the 2028 target depends on generation, transmission, site power and data-hall construction advancing in sequence. Any delay in one of those layers could shift later capacity without changing the headline 8GW lease. For BTW readers, the practical milestone is the conversion of the first 4.25GW from credit-backed demand into permitted, energised and commissioned infrastructure on the planned 2028 delivery path.

What to watch

Look for final investment decisions, generation contracts, transmission filings, construction awards and equipment commitments tied to the first 4.25GW tranche. The most useful evidence will be permitted and energised infrastructure supporting commissioned data halls, followed by customer acceptance and workload ramp from 2028. Any disclosure on how Nvidia's credit support changes if OpenAI demand or power delivery slips would also clarify counterparty exposure.