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Data Center View - February 24, 2025 - Blue Owl JV secures $2.3 billion

Data Center View - February 24, 2025 - Blue Owl JV secures $2.3 billion

Blue Owl JV secures $2.3 billion. AEP to bring 4.7GW of capacity online. Meta to invest $65 billion. DPO to build $200 million data center. Novacap closes $1 billion fund. Data centers are booming in Texas.

Matt H
February 24, 2025

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NEWS ROUNDUP

FINANCING: Blue Owl JV secures $2.3 billion. A joint venture between Blue Owl Capital, Crusoe Energy Systems, and Primary Digital Infrastructure has secured a $2.3 billion loan from J.P. Morgan to finance the development of a 206MW build-to-suit data center in Abilene, TX. The 998,000-square-foot, two-building facility is part of a $3.4 billion joint venture formed in October 2024 between the three companies. Blue Owl’s Real Estate division and Primary Digital Infrastructure will jointly finance the project, while Crusoe Energy Systems will design, develop, and operate the data center. Oracle has already committed to leasing the entire complex under a long-term agreement, with occupancy scheduled to begin in the second half of 2025.

ENERGY: AEP to bring 4.7GW of new data center capacity online in 2025. American Electric Power (AEP) expects to bring 4.7GW of new data center capacity online in 2025, representing a 25% increase from last year. During AEP’s Q4 earnings call, Bill Fehrman, president and CEO of AEP, noted that large load impacts are already being felt in many of the company’s service areas, with Ohio seeing particularly strong demand. In December 2024 alone, AEP added nearly 450MW of new hyperscale data center load in Ohio, further solidifying the state’s role as a key hub for digital infrastructure. Beyond its 2025 capacity expansion, AEP reported customer commitments for 20GW of incremental load by 2030, driven by data centers, reshoring and manufacturing, and broader economic development.

DEVELOPMENT: Meta to invest $65 billion in 2025, mostly on its AI infrastructure. Meta has announced plans to invest between $60 billion and $65 billion in AI infrastructure this year, marking a significant increase from its $38 billion to $40 billion expenditure in 2024. As part of the initiative, Meta will increase hiring for AI roles and develop a more than 2-gigawatt data center, a facility large enough to cover a significant portion of Manhattan. The company also plans to end the year with over 1.3 million AI processors and bring 1GW of computing power online in 2025, reinforcing its role as a leading buyer of Nvidia’s AI chips. "Zuckerberg is signaling to the market he does not want to be second in the AI race," said D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria.

DEVELOPMENT: DPO to build $200 million data center in Wisconsin. Digital Power Optimization (DPO) has secured land and a firm power supply to develop a $200 million data center in Wisconsin Rapids, WI. The facility will be capable of delivering up to 20MW of AI computing power. The project is being developed in partnership with Consolidated Water Power Company (CWPCo), a subsidiary of Billerud that operates 32MW of renewable hydroelectric generation assets. "With our definitive agreements with CWPCo now finalized, we're thrilled to launch the development of this cutting-edge facility," said Andrew Webber, CEO of DPO. Martin Burkhardt, Director at CWPCo, emphasized the benefits of the project, stating, "We're creating value by utilizing our existing resources more efficiently, and showcasing how innovative partnerships can unlock new possibilities.” The pre-development phase has been financed by an investor consortium led by Salutem Capital, a privately held New York family office. "Our investment illustrates our full confidence in DPO’s vision and their ability to address the evolving needs of the digital infrastructure ecosystem," said Justin and Cameron Adelipour, Managing Partners at Salutem Capital.

FUNDRAISING: Novacap closes digital infrastructure fund. Novacap has announced the final closing of its first digital infrastructure fund, Novacap Digital Infrastructure Fund I, surpassing its initial target with more than $1 billion in commitments. The fund’s backers include institutional investors, family offices, and high-net-worth individuals from North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. The fund will focus on equity investments in North American lower mid-market companies that provide essential connectivity and data access services supported by robust physical assets. “I would like to thank our long-standing investors for their support and take this opportunity to welcome new investors to our new platform,” said Pascal Tremblay, President, CEO, and Managing Partner at Novacap.

READ: Data centers are booming in Texas. What does that mean for the grid?