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Oracle on the hook to pay data centre investors even if site has no electricity

33 pointsby 1h agoft.com
17 comments
1h agoHN ↗

The tech group has issued a force majeure notice related to the power supply to the project developer, a unit of Blue Owl Capital, after the site ran into permitting delays after rising local opposition.

Since when can failing to get a permit be considered force majeure?

Doesn't majeure specifically denote something large scale and out of anyone's control, such as a hurricane?

1h agoHN ↗

Oracle is in a pretty bad situation, it’s a desperate move. Their debt is rated just above junk since July. They are completely over leveraged. There is a reason the share price has been trending down so much

53m agoHN ↗

Its funny how before Oracle got in everybody was guessing who'd be swimming most naked when the tide goes out. CoreWeave obviously, but OpenAI likely as well depending on whom you'd ask.

With the contracts that "One Rich Asshole Called Larry Ellison" jumped on its without a doubt Oracle going down second if not first.

He's just gambling because he's old and feeling bold.

44m agoHN ↗

I had that exact thought when SoftBank got involved :)

It’s like if I see the EU announce a large investment in AI, always makes me nervous given how we are often late to the party

42m agoHN ↗

he's old.

He's only 82, and he's got a billion-dollar nonprofit dedicated to keeping him healthy. Don't count on him being on the way out.

40m agoHN ↗

Even a billionaire doesn’t have many _good_ years left after 80.

36m agoHN ↗

We have to account for the fact that Oracle is a law firm with a software branch attached to it.

Investors who (rightfully) see this "force majeure" claim as bullshit will have to drag Oracle through court, and Oracle probably counts on this taking years to get settled.

19m agoHN ↗

And there’s a good chance of inappropriate protective action from the US government.

1h agoHN ↗

Agreed, and most of these leases explicitly carve permitting out of force majeure since it's the tenant's job to get them.

35m agoHN ↗

I'm very curious what happens now to the several gigawatts of fuel cells, that this project supposedly purchased to supply power.

"Oracle signed a deal with solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) developer Bloom last year for 1.8GW of power, expanding it to 2.8GW of capacity in April."

https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/new-mexico-regula...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloom_Energy

I was surprised to read we're already building fuel cell power plants on this scale (this is a first of its kind project—by far this startup's largest customer). I didn't realize the tech was that mature. Now I'm left wondering if they actually ever intended to, or whether this was some kind of circular financial-engineering vaporware.

13m agoHN ↗

I thought fuel cells were an energy storage system, not an energy generation system. Surely it’s cheaper to just connect the data center to the generation directly (either by upgrading the grid to handle it or building generators nearby).

21m agoHN ↗

A too-big-to-fail about to fail certain it'll be bailed out? Another comment* raised a question about investments in fuel cells that could have been just for show. Are they doing max damage to leech as much cash as possible before implosion or it's just... I mean, it's oracle it's a mystery to me how they make so much money with selling crapware, so it might just be business as usual?

*https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49842884

8m agoHN ↗

I don't love Oracle, but they made so much money selling the best relational database on the planet for 40 years.

18m agoHN ↗

The AI bubble has built a giant interconnected web of commitments backed by a debt bomb. It all flows back to the ability of net new cash to flow in to pay for all this, not just VC funding and circular vendor financing. We’re seeing the early signs of that starting to all implode.