Signing an LOI for IDACORE East locks in $175/kW/month base power pricing (plus utility pass-through at cost, no markup), a reserved allocation from the planned 20MW Eastern Oregon build, and priority sequencing for Phase 1 delivery targeting Q4 2026. It doesn't commit you to capital spend today — it commits IDACORE to build for your load.
Why Pre-Lease a Site That Isn't Built Yet?
GPU clusters don't wait for permits. If you're planning an H100 or B200 deployment for 2027, you need rack space reserved before construction finishes, not after. That's the whole logic behind pre-leasing: megawatt-scale colocation takes 12-18 months from LOI to power-on, and the sites with real utility interconnects and gas generation backing don't come online on demand.
IDACORE East is planned for 5MW of IT load in Phase 1 — roughly 40 cabinets — with the full site designed to scale to 20MW. That's not a speculative number pulled from a pitch deck. It's tied to a specific utility interconnect agreement and a construction timeline targeting Q4 2026 for first power.
Here's the part that matters for your CFO: pre-leasing locks in today's rate. Power costs move. Utility pass-through means you're not exposed to markup, but the base rate — $175/kW/month — is set now, in the LOI. If GPU colocation demand in the Pacific Northwest keeps climbing the way it has, that base rate isn't getting cheaper later.
What Is IDACORE East Actually Being Built For?
This isn't a retrofit of a legacy facility. IDACORE East is designed from the slab up for AI and HPC density that standard colocation can't touch.
True 2N power — not generator backup, but an independent grid source paired with gas generation as a second, genuinely separate path. If one source drops, the other isn't scrambling to start; it's already running.
Direct-to-chip liquid cooling at 120kW per cabinet — density that lets you rack dense GPU nodes without spreading them across three times the floor space to manage heat with air.
Five diverse fiber routes across two separate entry points — designed so a single fiber cut, construction accident, or backhoe strike can't take the whole facility offline.
Target PUE of ~1.10, with free air cooling planned for roughly eight months a year in Eastern Oregon's climate. That's not a marketing number — it's what the climate and the mechanical design are built to hit. Compare that to the 1.4-1.6 PUE typical of older air-cooled colocation, and the power bill difference on a 5MW load is not small.
None of this exists today. We're not going to tell you it does. What exists today is a signed interconnect, a construction plan, and a Q4 2026 target — and an LOI process that lets you claim a slot in that plan before it's gone.
What Does an LOI Actually Commit You To?
Not much, and that's by design. An LOI for IDACORE East reserves capacity and locks pricing. It's not a lease, and it's not a deposit-and-forget arrangement — it's a structured way to move from "we're interested" to "we have 500kW reserved for Q1 2027 deployment" without signing a 10-year commitment before a single cabinet is installed.
What it typically includes:
- Reserved kW allocation against the Phase 1 5MW pool
- Locked base rate ($175/kW/month) protected from rate increases before delivery
- A sequencing position — earlier LOIs get earlier delivery windows as Phase 1 comes online
- A defined path to full colocation agreement once the facility reaches commissioning
If your GPU procurement timeline and IDACORE East's construction timeline line up — and for most teams planning 2027 AI infrastructure, they will — the LOI is how you make sure capacity is waiting for you instead of the other way around.
How Does This Compare to Building Your Own Site?
Most companies evaluating megawatt-scale GPU deployment run the same math: build custom, lease from a hyperscaler-adjacent colocation provider, or find a purpose-built AI facility. Here's how the economics actually stack up.
| Factor | Build Your Own | Hyperscaler GPU Instance | IDACORE East (Planned) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time to power-on | 24-36 months | Immediate, but capacity-constrained | Q4 2026 (Phase 1) |
| Power cost basis | Market rate + your own utility negotiation | Bundled, opaque | $175/kW/month + utility at cost |
| Cooling density | You design and build it | Not your problem, but you pay for it in the rate | 120kW/cabinet direct-to-chip, planned |
| Power redundancy | Whatever you engineer | Provider's SLA, not visible to you | True 2N: grid + gas generation |
| Minimum commit | Full capital project | Per-instance, no long-term lock | 1MW |
The honest comparison isn't "IDACORE East vs. AWS on price per GPU-hour" — hyperscaler GPU instances solve a different problem, short-term burst capacity. IDACORE East is for teams who know they need sustained megawatt-scale density for 3+ years and don't want to build a power substation to get it.
What Happens If You Wait Until the Facility Is Live?
You can. Nothing stops you from waiting until Q4 2026 and signing a standard colocation agreement once IDACORE East is commissioned. But two things change if you wait:
First, pricing isn't guaranteed to hold. Utility costs in Eastern Oregon are favorable now — Idaho Power's commercial rate context runs around $0.055/kWh regionally, roughly half the national average, and Eastern Oregon benefits from similar regional advantages. That's part of why the $175/kW base rate works today. Rate environments shift.
Second, Phase 1 is 5MW. That's 40 cabinets at full density. If you're planning a 2MW GPU deployment, that's 40% of Phase 1 capacity. Sequencing matters — LOIs are processed in order, and the teams who signed six months before commissioning get first pick of available power blocks.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is IDACORE East and when will it be operational?
IDACORE East is a megawatt-scale AI and HPC colocation facility in Eastern Oregon, currently in the pre-leasing phase via LOI. Phase 1, targeting 5MW of IT load across roughly 40 cabinets, is scheduled for delivery in Q4 2026. The full site is designed to scale to 20MW as demand grows.
How much does GPU colocation cost at IDACORE East?
The base rate is $175/kW/month plus utility pass-through billed at cost with no markup. The facility has a 1MW minimum commitment. Pricing locked in via LOI today is protected from rate increases before Phase 1 delivery in Q4 2026.
What cooling density does IDACORE East support?
IDACORE East is designed for direct-to-chip liquid cooling at 120kW per cabinet, with a target PUE of approximately 1.10. The design includes roughly eight months per year of free air cooling based on Eastern Oregon's climate, reducing mechanical cooling costs relative to standard air-cooled facilities.
Is signing an LOI for IDACORE East a binding lease commitment?
No. An LOI reserves a kW allocation against Phase 1 capacity and locks in the base rate, but it is not a signed lease or a capital commitment. It establishes sequencing priority and a defined path to a full colocation agreement once the facility reaches commissioning in Q4 2026.
How does IDACORE East's power redundancy compare to standard colocation?
IDACORE East is designed with true 2N power — an independent grid source paired with gas generation as a fully separate second path, not a generator serving as backup. This differs from most colocation facilities, which run N+1 UPS with generator backup rather than two independent primary power sources.
If your 2027 GPU deployment plan depends on megawatt-scale density that doesn't exist at most colocation providers yet, the window to lock in $175/kW/month pricing and a Phase 1 allocation at IDACORE East is now, not after Q4 2026 delivery. Talk to us about reserving capacity.
