Cipher Digital, the company formerly known as Cipher Mining that has pivoted away from cryptocurrency operations toward AI and hyperscale data centers, is pursuing a large-scale development near Riesel in McLennan County, Texas, with plans to energize the site around 2028.

Land Secured Near Riesel

Local reporting from Kxxv first brought additional details of the project to light, revealing that Cipher Digital has acquired a significant parcel of land near the Sandy Creek Power Plant, a 932-megawatt coal-fired generating station located outside Waco.

The company has confirmed the land acquisition but stated it is still finalizing building plans, which it says will depend on the end user.

Cipher has previously referenced a 500 MW development in McLennan County, and its most recent investor presentation indicates the land for the project is secured with an energization target of approximately 2028.

The Sandy Creek Generating Station, which burns low-sulfur sub-bituminous coal, began construction in 2008 and entered commercial operation in 2012 and 2013.

The plant is currently offline and is not expected to return to service until 2027 following an unspecified failure, meaning the timeline for any power arrangements tied to the facility would need to account for that outage.

Local Officials Notified, Opposition Noted

Precinct 2 Commissioner D.L. Wilson confirmed that Cipher Digital has approached him regarding the proposed project.

In a statement, Wilson said he had "recently been approached by Cipher Digital regarding a proposed data center project near Riesel."

While Wilson expressed personal opposition to data center development in McLennan County, he acknowledged that Texas law affords county commissioners limited authority to block such projects from moving forward.

Cipher has not yet brought its plans before the full commissioners' court. The company is, however, looking to organize a town hall meeting to present its plans to the local community before advancing further through any formal approval processes.

From Cryptomining to AI Infrastructure

Cipher Digital's pursuit of the McLennan County site reflects a broader strategic transformation for the company.

Previously operating under the name Cipher Mining, the firm built its business around cryptocurrency mining operations before rebranding and shifting its focus toward large-scale data center campuses designed to serve AI workloads and hyperscale customers.

The company now has multiple projects in various stages of planning and development across Texas.

That repositioning has already yielded notable commercial agreements.

Among the tenants Cipher has secured are Amazon Web Services and Fluidstack, the latter of which counts Google as a backer.

The company's ability to attract such customers underscores the growing demand for purpose-built AI infrastructure in regions where large blocks of power can be assembled, a challenge that has made proximity to existing generation assets increasingly attractive to data center developers.

Power Proximity Driving Site Selection

The choice to locate near the Sandy Creek Generating Station fits a pattern seen across the data center industry, where developers seek out sites adjacent to substantial power infrastructure to reduce interconnection costs and timelines.

Sandy Creek's 932 MW capacity, even with its current outage, represents a significant generation asset in the area.

The plant's coal-fired nature and its extended offline period through 2027 add complexity to any power procurement strategy tied directly to the facility, though Cipher has not publicly detailed the specific power arrangement it intends to pursue at the site.

McLennan County's position in the broader Texas power market, operated by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, also makes it an attractive location for developers who need access to large quantities of electricity on competitive terms.

Texas has emerged as one of the most active states for data center development in recent years, driven by available land, a deregulated energy market, and relatively favorable permitting environments at the state level, even as local sentiment in some communities has grown more cautious.

Timeline and Next Steps

According to Cipher Digital's investor presentation, the McLennan County project is on track to be energized around 2028.

The company's confirmation that building plans are still being finalized suggests the development remains in relatively early stages despite the land already being secured.

The planned town hall meeting would represent one of the next visible steps in the project's progression, giving residents in and around Riesel an opportunity to hear directly from the company before any formal applications are filed with local or state authorities.

Cipher has not disclosed the specific end users targeted for the McLennan County campus, noting only that the building plans will be shaped by whoever ultimately occupies the facility.

With AWS and Fluidstack already listed as tenants across its broader Texas portfolio, the company has established a track record of attracting major cloud and AI infrastructure customers to its developing pipeline.