Applied Digital said on May 20, 2026 that a new Polaris Forge 3 lease pushed its contracted AI Factory campus capacity to 1,200 megawatts of critical IT load and about 1,670 megawatts of gross utility power. That is the current hook. This is not a 2025 update, and the source does not support saying the contracted gigawatt is located in Texas.
The Dallas-headquartered company said Polaris Forge 3 is in a northern state, spans more than 600 acres, and is designed for 300 megawatts of critical IT load supported by roughly 430 megawatts of grid-connected utility power. The lease is a 15-year take-or-pay agreement with a U.S.-based investment-grade hyperscaler, valued at about $7.5 billion in base-term contracted revenue and up to $18.2 billion if renewal options are exercised.
That changes the article's framing. The relevant story for Texas manufacturers is not that Applied Digital is adding a gigawatt of Texas capacity. It is that AI infrastructure developers are signing long-duration leases, locking up power-heavy campus plans, and creating demand for the same electrical, mechanical, controls, and construction ecosystem that industrial operators depend on.
What Changed in 2026
The May 20 announcement followed an April 23, 2026 Delta Forge 1 announcement. Applied Digital said Delta Forge 1 is a 430 megawatt AI Factory campus with a 300 megawatt critical IT load lease, also valued at roughly $7.5 billion over an estimated 15-year term. The company said initial operations at Delta Forge 1 are expected in mid-2027.
Secondary reporting adds a location detail that the company release did not state directly. Data Center Dynamics reported on April 23, 2026 that Applied Digital's investor presentation listed Delta Forge 1 in Alexandria, Louisiana. The company itself described the campus as a strategic southern U.S. market. Either way, that is materially different from saying the new capacity is in Texas.
Across the two 2026 announcements, the pattern is clear: Applied Digital is moving from individual campus milestones to a multi-campus AI infrastructure platform. The company said total contracted baseline revenue now stands at $31 billion across four AI Factory campuses, with potential revenue of $73 billion if all renewal options are exercised.
Why Texas Manufacturers Should Still Care
The Texas implication is operational, not geographic. Applied Digital is headquartered in Dallas, and the AI infrastructure buildout is competing nationally for power engineering talent, electrical gear, cooling design, commissioning labor, and construction capital. Those are the same constraints that shape plant expansions, automation projects, substation upgrades, warehouse electrification, and high-load equipment installs.
Mid-market manufacturers do not need to chase every data center headline. They do need to understand when hyperscaler-backed infrastructure starts changing the procurement environment around them. A 15-year lease gives developers enough certainty to reserve suppliers, contractors, financing, and grid planning capacity long before the campus starts operating.
That matters for a Texas manufacturer planning work in 2026 or 2027. A plant expansion that needs switchgear, transformers, high-voltage electrical work, controls contractors, mechanical piping, or cooling-system integration is entering the same market that large AI campuses are pulling from. The risk is not abstract. It shows up as longer lead times, fewer qualified bidders, and more expensive project schedules.
What to Check Now
Start with the assumptions that would hurt if they are wrong. If your next expansion depends on a utility upgrade, ask for the actual interconnection timeline and identify the decision points that can slip. If your maintenance team depends on outside electrical contractors, ask whether those firms are committing crews to data center projects. If your capital plan assumes standard lead times for transformers, switchgear, UPS equipment, cooling components, or controls panels, update the quote before approving the budget.
- Review power contracts and demand-charge exposure before renewal, not after a rate shock.
- Ask electrical and mechanical contractors how much 2026 and 2027 capacity is already committed.
- Prequalify backup suppliers for power distribution, cooling, controls, and commissioning work.
- Separate verified source facts from market assumptions when using AI infrastructure news for planning.
There is also a supplier opportunity. Manufacturers that fabricate electrical enclosures, structural steel, cooling skids, piping assemblies, controls cabinets, or modular infrastructure may find more demand around AI campus construction. But qualification will not wait until a ribbon-cutting. Documentation, traceability, production capacity, and quality systems need to be ready before procurement windows open.
The Correction That Matters
The previous framing treated older and unsupported information as if it described the current 2026 situation. That is the mistake to avoid. The current source record says Applied Digital surpassed the 1 gigawatt threshold in May 2026, through a fourth campus lease at Polaris Forge 3, while the April 2026 Delta Forge 1 lease added a separate 300 megawatts of critical IT load.
For Texas operators, the useful takeaway is narrower and stronger: do not assume the capacity is local just because the company is Dallas-based. Use the current 2026 announcements as a planning signal for power-heavy industrial projects, supplier qualification, and skilled-trade capacity. That is what is happening now.