ERCOT discloses over 5 GW of conditional capacity for AI deployments as Bitcoin miners pivot

Texas’ grid operator just handed out conditional power capacity to some of the biggest names in Bitcoin mining and AI infrastructure, and the numbers are staggering. Public disclosures from companies participating in ERCOT’s Batch Zero process now total approximately 13.275 GW of conditional capacity, with over 5 GW earmarked specifically for new AI deployments. What Batch Zero actually means ERCOT launched its Batch Zero process in June 2026 to tackle a growing headache: an avalanche of large-load interconnection requests, primarily from data centers. The process evaluates projects of 75 MW or larger in batches, rather than on a first-come, first-served basis. The classifications break down into two categories. Base load represents power that’s expected to be consumed continuously. Studied load gets flagged for further analysis before it can be fully committed. Of the 13.275 GW disclosed publicly, about 6.875 GW has been identified as base load. These classifications remain conditional, subject to verification and further audits. ERCOT isn’t writing blank checks here — it’s trying to separate serious projects from speculative ones in a queue where nearly 90% of requests come from ...