Cipher Digital, a bitcoin miner turned AI data center builder, is expanding across Texas. It has a 15-year, $5.5 billion lease to provide Amazon Web Services 300 megawatts of power, with rent due to begin in August 2026; no report has said whether it did. It also has a $3 billion lease with the AI cloud firm Fluidstack, backed by Google, at its Barber Lake site in Colorado City. Its next project is Colchis, a 1 gigawatt campus near San Angelo with a direct-connect power deal with American Electric Power.
On September 22, 2026, Cipher briefed Tom Green County commissioners on Colchis, sited off US Highway 67 North near City Farm Road outside San Angelo. Policy head Lee Bratcher said the site has a conditional grid designation through ERCOT and that Cipher has paid AEP Texas more than $17 million in interconnection fees. Cooling will need a one-time 2 million gallon water fill trucked in from Ector County. Cipher has no tenant, no building design and no start date, though it hopes to begin grading in late 2026, and expects 200 to 300 permanent jobs.
Near Riesel, in McLennan County, Cipher has bought about 300 acres beside the Sandy Creek coal plant for a campus of up to 500 megawatts, under the code name McLennan, planned for more than two years. In May 2026 the company ruled out using Riesel's city water but had not decided on cooling. Neighbor Josh Havens, who farms 1.5 miles away, said tech companies have "this almost lustful interest by these tech companies to come up and tear up perfectly good farmland." Residents started a "Stop the Riesel Data Center" campaign.
Cipher Digital sites on record
Grouped by country, then by state or region, biggest first. Open one to see the projects there. The report above may name sites that have no record here yet.
United States10 · 2,677 MW
Texas10
| Project | Company | Status | Power | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cipher McLennan (Riesel)Riesel | Cipher Digital | Proposed | 500 MW | |
| Cipher Mikeska (Doole)Doole | Cipher Digital | Proposed | 500 MW | |
| Cipher MilsingSingleton | Cipher Digital | Proposed | 500 MW | |
| Anthropic Barber LakeColorado City | Cipher Digital | Under construction | 300 MW | |
| Cipher Mining Black PearlWink | Cipher Digital | 300 MW | ||
| Cipher OdessaOdessa | Cipher Digital | 207 MW | ||
| Cipher UlyssesExact site not confirmed | Cipher Digital | Proposed | 200 MW | |
| Cipher Stingray (Andrews)Andrews | Cipher Digital | Proposed | 100 MW | |
| Cipher Reveille (Cotulla)Cotulla | Cipher Digital | Proposed | 70 MW | |
| Cipher Apollo (San Antonio option)Exact site not confirmed | Cipher Digital | Proposed, early stage | Not reported |
Where this comes from
The reporting above was written from these. Open one and check it yourself.
Every project above is drawn from public records, filings and local reporting. Each row links to what it is based on. Statuses change, so check the source date before you rely on one. Found something wrong? Write to [email protected] and it gets fixed.