Lambda Announces $33.1 Billion Alabama Data Center Campus

Lambda announced on November 4, 2026 that it plans to build the proposed Red Clay Technology Center Campus in Lowndes County, Alabama, an estimated $33.1 billion investment. Lambda will serve as the end user for the campus, while Cloverleaf Infrastructure prepares the site for development.

Lambda expects construction to begin in the first quarter of 2027 and take up to five years. The development is projected to support more than 1,000 construction jobs and more than 225 full-time operations, technical and support roles. Alabama Power would serve the campus pending regulatory approval. The site is planned near U.S. Highway 80 and Alabama Highway 21, with final design details still to be developed.

The investment estimate corresponds to a 1,000-megawatt base case in Cloverleaf Infrastructure’s October 5 commission packet, which also describes potential expansion to 1,500 megawatts and a site capped at 2,200 acres unless the county consents to more. The amount is an estimated initial investment for the proposed build, not spending already completed.

County Terms Predate Lambda’s Announcement

The announcement names an end user for a project already considered by county officials. Cloverleaf presented Project Red Clay to the Lowndes County Commission on October 9, and the commission approved the development agreements on October 13, following the Lowndes County Economic Development Commission’s October 9 recommendation. The approved standards are legally binding and carry forward to the facility’s eventual operator.

Under the approved package, Lowndes County abates 50% of county non-educational property taxes and specified construction and equipment sales and use taxes for 20 years. School taxes are not abated, and the county provides no cash grant, rebate or payment.

The economic development commission’s model projects $2.85 billion in county revenue after abatement for tax years 2027 through 2049, including $1.61 billion for local schools, while $1.15 billion of county taxes would be abated. The county would retain about 71% of projected county taxes. Those are nominal-dollar estimates that can change with final investment, timing and valuation. For scale, the projected school contribution averages $70 million annually, against the packet’s current annual baseline of $7.6 million in local school revenue.

Base Case Exceeds the Contractual Thresholds

The base case is distinct from the agreement’s contractual thresholds. The company is required to use commercially reasonable efforts to reach at least $16 billion of investment within seven years and 125 net new full-time jobs within ten years of the in-service date. Those thresholds are below the $33.1 billion investment and 225 jobs used in the base case, and the agreement does not guarantee either base-case figure.

If the first building is not placed in service by December 30, 2030, subject to permitted delays, the company must repay county and state taxes abated through that deadline. The arrangement therefore ties the tax benefit to actual development rather than treating the entire proposed investment as assured.

Power Approval Shapes the Next Milestones

Lambda has committed to pay the full cost of the power and grid infrastructure required to serve the facility through upfront financial commitments that apply even if project plans change. The commitment is intended to keep those costs from being shifted to Alabama Power’s existing customers.

Both companies are listed as signatories to the White House Ratepayer Protection Pledge, which calls for procuring new or otherwise additive power supply, covering delivery upgrades and paying negotiated rates for the relevant power and infrastructure whether or not the electricity is used.

Lambda plans closed-loop cooling and a partnership with N-Drip intended to return at least as much water as the facility uses. The commission materials separately cap water use at 100,000 gallons a day, require project-funded water-system upgrades and establish standards for setbacks, noise, lighting and roads.

Community funding is also milestone-based. The community-benefits schedule provides up to $10 million through the Central Alabama Community Foundation: $1 million initially, $4 million after execution of the electric-service contract and Alabama Public Service Commission approval, and $5 million over five years following the start of construction. That ties a substantial portion of the local funding to the same outstanding power-approval path.

Red Clay now has a named end user and approved county agreements, but final design and regulatory approval for Alabama Power service remain outstanding. The power decision also controls part of the community funding. As planning advances, the central question is how much of the proposed campus is delivered, given that the agreement’s investment and employment thresholds are lower than the base-case plan and framed as commercially reasonable efforts.