Oracle falls 1.8% on power delays at Wisconsin AI campus

Oracle shares fell 1.8% on Wednesday following a report from infrastructure data provider Aterio. The analysis warned that the company faces severe delays at its planned artificial intelligence data center campus in Wisconsin because of a gridlocked power connection. Access to electricity has become a primary bottleneck for technology firms expanding their computing infrastructure.

Vantage Data Centers is building the 500-acre Project Lighthouse campus for Oracle in Port Washington, Wisconsin. Physical construction continues to advance, with permits in place and two of the site's four buildings already enclosed. However, the facility cannot run computers until local utility American Transmission Co. completes a new high-voltage power line.

That power line project has encountered regulatory hurdles. The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin recently revoked an initial approval and restarted its review clock after builders filed hundreds of changes to the project scope. The reset threatens Oracle's target to begin using the site in the second half of 2027. Under Aterio's most likely scenario, meaningful power will not reach the campus until early 2028, and full capacity might be delayed until April 2029 if the standard one-year regulatory review applies.

The setback in Wisconsin comes shortly after Oracle warned it might delay payments on Project Jupiter, another major campus located in New Mexico. That site faces delays with gas pipelines and pending air permits, though Oracle maintains the project remains on schedule. Oracle did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the Wisconsin report.