Applied Digital’s 1.2 GW Lease Portfolio Turns AI Capacity Into a Delivery Test

Applied Digital has expanded its contracted AI data-center portfolio through a 15-year take-or-pay lease for Polaris Forge 3. The campus is designed for 300 MW of critical IT load and is expected to begin initial operations in August 2027. Delivering that capacity requires power, construction, cooling, finance and customer readiness to advance together.

Applied Digital’s Polaris Forge 3 Lease

Applied Digital announced the lease on May 20, 2026. Polaris Forge 3 is designed around approximately 430 MW of grid-connected power to support its planned critical IT load. The long lease gives the development a contracted commercial foundation, but the campus remains a future operating asset rather than capacity available today.

The company reports 1,200 MW of contracted capacity across four AI campuses. Its investor material also describes 1 GW of critical IT load under construction and 900 MW under long-term leases. These figures describe different parts of the development pipeline and should not be treated as one measure of currently operating infrastructure.

Applied Digital’s quarterly filing makes the lifecycle distinctions clearer. Some buildings at Polaris Forge 1 and Polaris Forge 2 are leased, while other capacity remains under construction or dependent on future power agreements. Polaris Forge 3 adds another large delivery commitment to that portfolio.

How Power, Construction and Commissioning Connect

A take-or-pay lease can support investment by establishing a long-term payment obligation for contracted capacity. It does not build the campus by itself. Applied Digital must still coordinate site development, construction finance, utility arrangements, transmission, substations, permits and regulatory approvals before the customer can use the infrastructure.

Power is a defining dependency. The planned 300 MW of critical IT load needs roughly 430 MW of grid-connected power because data-center operations also require cooling and other supporting systems. The electricity connection must be available on the construction and commissioning timetable. A completed building without adequate power would not constitute service-ready AI capacity.

Construction and customer deadlines create a second interface. Buildings must progress through design, procurement, installation, testing and commissioning before initial operations can begin. Financing must remain aligned with those stages. The lease provides commercial visibility, while the delivery program determines when that contracted demand can become revenue-producing service.

The wider portfolio increases the coordination burden. Multiple campuses can diversify locations and customers, but each site has its own land, utility and approval conditions. Portfolio totals are therefore useful only when accompanied by site-level evidence of construction, power availability and operating readiness.

The Test for Operating AI Capacity

AI infrastructure announcements often emphasize scale. Applied Digital’s disclosures provide a more useful distinction between contracted, under-construction and operating capacity. That separation makes it possible to judge progress without treating future megawatts as current service.

The operational test is whether Polaris Forge 3 has its power connection, campus systems and customer operations ready on the same timetable. Until then, the lease is a strong delivery commitment whose performance must be measured through construction and commissioning evidence.