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AI infrastructure demand didn't disappear in the past two weeks. The presumption that capital would stay cheap, plentiful, and indifferent to execution risk did. In this issue of Digital Power Digest, Keel Infrastructure SVP of Power Chris Ruppel looks at a stretch when CoreWeave fell more than 22% for the week and its 2032 unsecured bonds traded below 80 cents on the dollar, and at what that means for how AI projects get financed. His takeaway: favor evidence of conversion, meaning funded construction, enforceable offtake, durable permissions, and executable energization, over headline megawatts.
Financing terms are now borrower-specific. Volta's proposed $5 billion Norway financing drew investor demands for more collateral and a rate of at least 11%, against 6.78% on Lambda's recently closed facility. The two aren't like-for-like, but the gap shows that counterparty quality, security, and repayment structure carry a real price. On the power side, Google's 3,590 MW Constellation agreement and AEP's $4 billion, 702 MW fuel-cell project show that long-dated, creditworthy offtake is what makes new generation financeable.
Execution risk is also moving into lease and credit terms. Oracle's Project Jupiter pipeline slipped to February 2027, and trucked gas can bridge an early phase but cannot replace a pipeline. The issue also covers behind-the-meter capital, local moratoriums, and much more. The key takeaway: the AI buildout continues, but the market now puts a higher price on getting it wrong.