Riot Platforms' Corsicana lease with AI company Anthropic became binding on Nov. 4, requiring Riot to obtain Anthropic's consent before voluntarily curtailing the tenant's power load or enrolling the premises in voluntary demand-response programs. Mandatory orders from the utility or grid operator are exempt, according to Riot's quarterly filing.
The approval requirement applies to the leased tenant load and does not constitute a companywide ban on mining curtailment. Riot's mining strategy has included selling unused or uneconomic contracted power at Rockdale and voluntarily reducing consumption at Rockdale and Corsicana during Texas summer peaks. The company reported $25 million in companywide power-curtailment credits in the third quarter, and peak-demand transmission savings separately lower subsequent-year bills.
The lease, signed Oct. 28, covers a planned 910 megawatts of critical IT capacity. Riot's earnings presentation puts initial-term contract revenue at approximately $28 billion, including annual escalators before amortization of tenant reimbursements. That figure represents future lease revenue rather than cash already received or current profit. Anthropic bears the leased site's electricity bill, and the disclosures do not quantify any curtailment income Riot might forgo.
Rent follows phased delivery
The 910 MW is targeted for phased delivery. Riot aims for the first block on June 28, 2027, with the full 400 MW first phase due that September. Another 200 MW is targeted for January 2028 and the final 310 MW for July 2028.
Base rent starts at $130 per kilowatt of delivered critical IT capacity per month and increases 3% annually. The initial term begins with the first block and ends in the month containing the fifteenth anniversary of Phase 3's commencement. Rent begins pad by pad, with up to a 60-day extension if Anthropic's modules are not installed at delivery. Once capacity is delivered and rent commences, the presentation describes payment as independent of utilization. Riot must build the site and power infrastructure and maintain the power infrastructure; Anthropic bears electricity, taxes, insurance and site expenses.
Riot estimates roughly $5.5 billion of hard costs at Corsicana, including site work and tenant module reimbursements. Riot must reimburse Anthropic for eligible module costs, up to $4 million per megawatt of critical IT power actually achieved, subject to financing on market terms reasonably acceptable to Riot. If financing remains unavailable after commercially reasonable efforts, Riot instead credits Anthropic's rent. Those credits amortize the reimbursement plus 12% annual interest over the remaining initial term, reducing rent collected in cash.
Capacity more than 60 days late triggers escalating rent credits, capped at 270 days of base rent for undelivered blocks in the relevant phase. A phase delayed beyond 270 days can be terminated on 30 days' notice, subject to cure rights and extensions for force majeure or tenant-caused delays.
