Oklahoma’s Hottest Address for AI Data Centers Is a Substation Nobody Had Heard Of
A nondescript complex of power lines and equipment on NW 248th Street near Piedmont in Kingfisher County has become one of the most sought-after locations for AI data center development in Oklahoma. It is, by one developer’s description, one of the strongest points on the electrical grid in the state.
Stephen Martin reports that the Mathewson Substation sits at the western end of a new $72 million, 38-mile transmission line connecting it to the Redbud Energy Facility near Luther. The project was designed years ago by Southwest Power Pool planners to relieve grid congestion in the western Oklahoma City metro area. Before it enters service in 2027, it has already drawn two competing data center developers, generated community opposition in multiple cities and prompted the Oklahoma Legislature to pass what its sponsor called the most aggressive ratepayer protection law for data centers in the country…