Hyperscalers and AI labs now demand more than $5 million per day in penalties when landlords fail to deliver power or completed facilities on time, up from roughly $1 million per day in early 2026. They are also negotiating rent reductions, liquidated damages and termination rights tied to power and construction delays. Under OpenAI’s agreement with SB Energy in Ohio, every day of delay grants one free day of rent, with the penalty doubling after 90 days, potentially resulting in approximately 640 free rent days for a one-year delay. Generator and transformer lead times of 12 to 24 months, along with permitting and grid interconnection bottlenecks, delayed or canceled numerous large US projects in 2026. Oracle issued a force majeure notice in September 2026 for its Project Jupiter campus in New Mexico, which is planned to open in 2028.
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