IREN’s 2 GW Sweetwater Hub conditionally classed Base Load in ERCOT Batch Zero
IREN Limited (Nasdaq: IREN) announced September 8, 2026, that its 2-gigawatt (GW) Sweetwater Hub—Sweetwater 1 at 1,400 megawatts and Sweetwater 2 at 600 megawatts—has been conditionally included in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT, the grid operator for most of Texas) Batch Zero interconnection screening process as Base Load. Base Load, in ERCOT’s Batch Zero framework, is the classification path for large loads that meet stricter eligibility and study criteria than speculative queue filings; the designation is still conditional. IREN said Sweetwater 1’s high-voltage substation was energized earlier this year and that construction of 300 megawatts (gross) of data-center capacity continues with delivery targeted for the fourth quarter of 2027. The company also said additional unnamed large-scale projects in its broader pipeline were included in Batch Zero and will be added to its announced development portfolio only after relevant grid connection agreements are executed. IREN stressed that ERCOT’s classifications remain conditional and subject to ongoing approval processes. No new public ERCOT Market Notice naming IREN or publishing a project list accompanied the company release; the last Batch Zero classifications Market Notice remains M-A080326-04 (September 3).
Why it matters
Sweetwater is IREN’s flagship West Texas AI campus bet. A company-disclosed conditional Base Load stamp is the first covered-name primary IR confirmation tied to the September 3 Batch Zero classifications to transmission and distribution providers, and it starts the private dispute, verification, and community-impact clocks that still gate energization.
Companies
- IREN
Risks
- Classification is conditional and subject to ERCOT eligibility verification, information requests, and community-impact review.
- Additional Batch Zero projects are unnamed until grid connection agreements are signed.
- Q4 2027 delivery for the first 300 MW (gross) at Sweetwater 1 remains company-guided construction timing.
- No public ERCOT name/MW list confirms other covered issuers’ statuses.