AI Data Center Delays Highlight New Bottlenecks for Oracle and Partners

Oracle Corp. (ORCL) has issued a force majeure notice to Blue Owl’s STACK Infrastructure regarding its Project Jupiter, a 2.45-gigawatt AI data center campus in New Mexico. The notice, issued in September, allows Oracle to protect itself contractually if the project fails to launch as planned in 2028. While Oracle later clarified that the notice does not confirm a delay, analysts at IO Fund highlight the challenges in turning signed AI deals into operational facilities. Project Jupiter faces hurdles including natural-gas supply, air permit, and land access issues.

The IO Fund argues that securing power is no longer sufficient; financing, permits, fuel supply, and local approvals now determine whether massive AI campuses come online. This shift creates new risks for companies like Bloom Energy Corp. (BE) and Applied Digital Corp. (APLD). Bloom Energy’s fuel-cell technology supports Project Jupiter, but the system still depends on natural gas reaching the site and receiving necessary permits. Applied Digital, meanwhile, has 1,410 MW of contracted capacity but faces construction delays and permitting risks.

Despite these challenges, Oracle shares closed 3% higher, Bloom Energy shares rose more than 4%, and Applied Digital shares gained over 5% on the day of the report. The IO Fund emphasizes that ‘power, not demand, is becoming the bottleneck,’ making the ability to turn contracted capacity into revenue increasingly important for data center stocks.