AI Data Center Leases Stretch to 20 Years as Power Becomes the Asset
, /PRNewswire/ -- American News Group News Commentary - The global AI data center market is projected to grow from USD 471.59 billion in 2026 to USD 2,023.52 billion by 2032, a compound annual growth rate of 27.5%, according to MarketsandMarkets. Much of that spending is now being locked in through long-term leases, as companies with power already connected sign 15- to 20-year take-or-pay contracts with investment-grade tenants and then finance the buildout against that rent. Active Companies from around the markets with current developments this week include: Host Digital Inc. (NYSE American: HOST ) , CleanSpark, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLSK ) , Hut 8 Corp. (NASDAQ: HUT ) , TeraWulf Inc. (NASDAQ: WULF ) , and Core Scientific, Inc. (NASDAQ: CORZ ) .
Fortune Business Insights sizes a narrower slice of the same market, the AI data center facilities themselves, at USD 21.27 billion in 2026 rising to USD 133.51 billion by 2034, a 25.8% CAGR. The two firms define the market differently, but both point the same way: sustained, double-digit growth in the physical capacity that artificial intelligence workloads run on.
What has changed in 2026 is the shape of the contracts. Over the past several months, operators across the sector have announced leases measured in decades rather than years, often with tenants described as high-investment-grade, and structured as triple-net or take-or-pay so that rent is owed whether or not the space is fully used. That structure lets developers raise project-level debt secured by a single site and its lease, rather than betting the whole company on each build.
The scarce input is power. Grid interconnections and utility service agreements can take years to secure, which is why so many of this year's largest leases have been signed at sites that already had electrical capacity in place, including former industrial plants and former bitcoin mining campuses. The companies below are examples of that model at very different scales.
Host Digital Publishes First Letter to Shareholders After NYSE American Debut, Setting Out Five Questions It Will Answer for Every Site and Lease
Site I in northeast Oklahoma carries a 15-year take-or-pay lease signed in August for 55 MW gross (43 MW critical IT) capacity.
The lease carries $1.25 billion in contracted base-term rent with 3% annual increases and approximately $67 million in first-year rent.
Delivery of Site I is targeted for the first quarter of 2027, with approximately $40 million in cash invested in the project to date.
The Company has exercised its right to acquire a second Oklahoma site from its Sponsor, which has four additional sites representing more than 450 MW of potential gross power capacity in its pipeline.
Host Digital Inc. (NYSE American: HOST ) develops, acquires, owns and operates data centers for AI and high-performance computing workloads. Its shares began trading on the NYSE American under the symbol HOST on September 18, 2026, following the completion of the merger of Host Digital Infrastructure LLC into the former Healthy Choice Wellness Corp. on September 17.
On September 29, Chief Executive Officer Harmol Samra published the Company's first letter to shareholders. The letter describes Host Digital's focus on what it calls "RightScaled" facilities of 20 MW to 100 MW, sited where power already exists or is available in the near term, and leased to customers under long-term contracts.
"The opportunity I see for Host Digital starts with a building, power that's already there, and a customer who needs a place to put it to work," said Samra in the letter. "Putting that existing foundation to work is at the heart of our Speed to Power approach."
Site I is the first test of that approach. It sits in northeast Oklahoma, at a location with an existing industrial building and a utility-owned electrical substation, and the Company says it has acquired the electrical service agreements for the site. The 15-year take-or-pay lease signed in August covers 55 MW of gross capacity and 43 MW of critical IT capacity, with $1.25 billion in contracted base-term rent, 3% annual escalators and approximately $67 million in first-year rent. Delivery is targeted for the first quarter of 2027.
The letter is built around five questions that Samra committed to answering for each project: what Host owns or expects to acquire, what it must pay to get it, what it must spend to deliver it, when rent starts, and what cash is expected to reach Host after project costs.
"My responsibility as Host's CEO is to build lasting value for you, our shareholders," Samra wrote. "Each time we announce a site or a lease, I'm committed to explaining what it means for you as a Host shareholder."
Growth beyond Site I is intended to come through the Company's Sponsor, the privately held Host Infrastructure Holdings, under a 24-month preferential rights agreement covering qualifying projects. On September 22, Host Digital said it had exercised its right to acquire a second site from the Sponsor: approximately 20 MW gross and 16 MW critical IT in northeast Oklahoma, where the Sponsor holds a 12-year take-or-pay lease with a publicly traded AI cloud provider carrying approximately $391 million in base-term rent. That acquisition remains subject to negotiation and definitive agreements. The Sponsor's wider pipeline covers four additional sites with more than 450 MW of potential gross power capacity, which the letter describes as deliverable by the end of 2027.
"Infrastructure is ultimately constrained by how quickly operators can secure power and bring capacity online," Samra said at the time of the listing.