IN Brief:
- Kentucky Power plans a new 765kV Venator Substation in Boyd County to support the Muskie Data Campus.
- The scheme includes about 2.5 miles of 765kV lines and two parallel 345kV circuits of roughly three miles each.
- TeraWulf has agreements for up to 1GW of electrical service, with initial supply expected in late 2028.
Kentucky Power is planning a new 765kV substation and associated 765kV and 345kV transmission lines in Boyd County to supply TeraWulf’s Muskie Data Campus at the EastPark Industrial Park.
The Muskie Transmission Improvements Project centres on the proposed Venator Substation, which will operate at 765kV. Two new 765kV lines totalling approximately 2.5 miles will connect the site to an existing extra-high-voltage corridor, while two parallel 345kV circuits will each extend for roughly three miles.
Kentucky Power is still evaluating routes through western Boyd County and has not selected the final alignments. Community and landowner engagement is therefore taking place before detailed permitting, land acquisition and construction.
The transmission scope reflects the size of the proposed load. TeraWulf has electric-service and infrastructure agreements covering up to 1GW of contracted supply, with initial service expected in the fourth quarter of 2028 before later phases increase the campus load.
Earlier project plans divided the development into an initial 500MW tranche followed by another 500MW, giving the completed campus an electrical requirement comparable with some major industrial complexes. Supplying that load requires dedicated transmission infrastructure rather than spare capacity from a local distribution feeder.
The 765kV connection places the campus on the bulk transmission system, where very high voltage allows large amounts of power to move at lower current for a given transfer. Lower current reduces resistive losses and conductor heating, helping move hundreds of megawatts without multiplying the number of circuits required at a lower voltage.
Power would then pass through the project’s high-voltage infrastructure towards the 345kV network serving the campus. TeraWulf had previously described a new 345kV substation tied into the 765kV system, while Kentucky Power’s latest proposal now sets out the Venator 765kV station and two parallel 345kV circuits forming the utility connection.
Detailed transformer ratings and the final single-line arrangement have not yet been published. The disclosed topology nevertheless shows a connection spanning two transmission voltage levels, with transformation, switching, protection and metering required before electricity reaches the campus distribution system.
Parallel 345kV circuits also provide additional operational flexibility compared with a single line. Maintenance or faults can be managed with more options where two transmission paths are available, although the degree of redundancy ultimately provided will depend on the completed substation and campus electrical design.
A 1GW data centre campus introduces a substantial continuous load into the network. Transmission studies must account for normal operation and credible contingencies, including the loss of individual lines, transformers or other assets, while maintaining acceptable voltage, thermal loading and system stability.
The campus itself covers approximately 308 acres in eastern Kentucky. TeraWulf acquired the site in May for $30 million at closing, with further deferred and contingent payments tied partly to the amount of power capacity ultimately delivered under the Kentucky Power arrangement.
Those contingent payments are calculated against megawatts made available to the site, up to the 1,000MW maximum. The commercial structure therefore links part of the property value directly to completion of the electrical infrastructure needed to serve the development.
Kentucky Power has also introduced tariff protections for exceptionally large customers. Loads of 150MW or more fall under provisions approved by the Kentucky Public Service Commission that are intended to limit the exposure of existing customers to infrastructure costs created by large new data centre connections.
Those tariff arrangements sit alongside the physical works rather than reducing the engineering requirement. Muskie still needs transmission lines, substations, transformers, protection, metering and sufficient upstream grid capacity before the first large computing blocks can be energised.
High-density computing campuses can also place sustained demand on equipment rather than producing the more variable operating profile seen in many industrial processes. Transformers and lines must therefore be designed around high utilisation as well as the contingency conditions imposed by transmission planning standards.
Kentucky Power’s immediate task is route selection for the 765kV and 345kV sections. Once those corridors are fixed, the project can advance through detailed design, permitting, land rights and construction on a timetable aligned with TeraWulf’s first power requirement.
Initial electricity supply is expected in late 2028, making the transmission programme one of the principal dependencies for the first 500MW phase of the Muskie campus.
