NU E Power: AI Needs Energy
AI and data centre growth has driven demand across the power value chain, from generation equipment through to semiconductors. NU E Power is a Canadian energy infrastructure developer that has focused on regions with growing electricity demand driven by data centres, AI infrastructure, and energy-intensive industries. The company identifies suitable sites for solar, storage, and so-called “energy park” projects, secures land and grid connections, and advances the projects through the permitting, interconnection, and contracting phases. Under this model, the company aims to create value during the development phase, between securing land and reaching construction readiness, before a project is sold in whole or in part or transferred to partners.
Most recently, NU E Power signed a non-binding letter of intent to acquire the Hays project in Alberta in its entirety. The project comprises approximately 145 MWac of solar capacity as well as a planned storage facility with 61.5 MW or 123 MWh. This would increase the existing portfolio from 1,112.25 MW to approximately 1,258 MW of gross capacity, while the net share would rise from 613.94 MW to about 760 MW.
The purchase price under the LOI is set at CAD 50,000 per MW of approved solar capacity and, based on the currently planned 145 MW, would amount to approximately CAD 7.25 million. The battery storage system is already included in this price. It is noteworthy that only CAD 100,000 is payable at closing and is credited against the Notice to Proceed payment. Seventy per cent of the remaining balance is payable on Notice to Proceed, and the final thirty per cent would become payable only on the Commercial Operation Date. Completion of the non-binding LOI remains subject to seven conditions precedent. Hays has no executed interconnection agreement and no power purchase agreement or offtake arrangement in place. This allows NU E Power to keep its capital outlay relatively low during the early, higher-risk development phase.
NU E Power had previously announced that it intends to explore projects in the areas of energy infrastructure, data centres, and crypto mining in collaboration with Luxxfolio. NU E Power would contribute its development expertise in energy parks as well as its project portfolio, while Luxxfolio brings operational experience in Litecoin mining. The Luxxfolio collaboration is an agreement to evaluate, and any specific arrangement is subject to further due diligence. The focus is on so-called “behind-the-meter” solutions, in which power generation and storage are directly integrated with mining operations or high-performance data centres. This is intended to reduce grid bottlenecks, connection times, and electricity costs, while improving the reliability of the power supply.
In addition, NU E Power has signed a non-binding letter of intent to purchase a property spanning approximately 29.44 acres in the Regina area of Saskatchewan, Canada. The purchase price is CAD 2.7 million and is to be paid in part through seller financing. The closing is contingent upon, among other things, a successful due diligence process, financing, board approval, an exemption under the Saskatchewan Farm Security Act, and the subdivision of the property. The site is not currently zoned or developed for industrial use. Whether the property can be put to its intended use depends on obtaining those approvals.
Nebius: Investors Appear to Remain Bullish
Investors appear to remain bullish on Nebius. Last week, the company issued convertible bonds totalling USD 5.75 billion. At the same time, existing convertible bonds with a total par value of USD 800 million were exchanged for approximately 15.8 million Nebius shares. The fresh funds are primarily intended to finance the massive expansion of the AI cloud infrastructure—including new data centres, additional locations, the further development of the full-stack AI cloud, and the procurement of GPUs and other key components.
The rapid placement suggests that investors are satisfied with the latest quarterly figures. Nebius achieved explosive growth in the second quarter of 2026. Consolidated revenue rose 454% year-over-year to USD 582.3 million. The core AI cloud business grew by as much as 514% to USD 575 million. The annualized recurring revenue (ARR) now stands at USD 3.0 billion. At the same time, adjusted EBITDA turned from USD -21.0 million to USD 236.2 million. In the cloud business, the adjusted EBITDA margin stands at 50%. Nevertheless, net income from continuing operations still showed a net loss of USD 190.4 million.
Operationally, Nebius reported its strongest sales quarter to date. The company signed four major AI cloud contracts, each with an average total contract value exceeding USD 1 billion. The total value of newly won contracts nearly quadrupled compared to the previous quarter, and for new customers, it rose to more than nine times the previous quarter’s figure. Revenues per megawatt ranged from USD 20 million to USD 25 million. For short-term capacity contracts, Nebius now even anticipates a price range of USD 40 million to USD 50 million per MW. In addition, approximately 70% of the contracts include upfront payments that cover 50% to 60% of the associated investments.
In light of strong demand, Nebius is accelerating its infrastructure expansion. The target for contractually secured power capacity by the end of the year has been raised again to 5 GW. Starting in 2027, more than 1 GW of additional data centre capacity is expected to be provided annually. At the same time, Nebius is expanding its software platform for training and inference and, through the acquisitions of Eigen AI and Clarifai, is integrating additional technologies for inference optimization. Management expects more than USD 9 billion in customer prepayments by 2026 and has confirmed all annual targets. According to the company, Nebius could already sell its entire planned 2027 capacity today. This is deliberately not being done in full, as the company is speculating on higher prices.
Micron Invests Billions, Analysts Remain Cautious
Micron Technology is among the semiconductor stocks that have stolen the show from Nvidia on the stock market in recent months and that energy infrastructure developers like NU E Power need. In the current year alone, the stock has roughly tripled in value.
Micron intends to remain a front-runner in memory technologies and AI in the future as well. To that end, the company plans to invest USD 10 billion in research over the next 10 years. A new research facility in Boise, Idaho, is set to become the centrepiece of this effort. The focus will include new memory technologies, memory and compute architectures, advanced packaging, and future semiconductor manufacturing processes. The research is intentionally designed to go beyond the usual technological horizon and target developments that may not become commercially relevant for more than a decade.
The concept relies heavily on collaboration. Micron plans to engage universities, government agencies, startups, customers, and companies within the semiconductor ecosystem and to network these activities with existing research centres in the US, Europe, and Asia. The company is building on an extensive technology portfolio comprising approximately 62,000 patents. The primary driver of this initiative is the rapidly growing demand for high-performance, energy-efficient memory solutions for AI systems. According to Micron, advances in memory technologies will be crucial to determining how powerful, scalable, and cost-effective future AI infrastructures will be.
The new research initiative comes on top of previously announced investments of more than USD 250 billion in production and research in the US, which the company says will create more than 90,000 jobs. The project in Boise is supported by, among others, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Apple CEO Tim Cook, and representatives from Applied Materials, Lam Research, and Stanford University.
Recently, analysts at Micron have slightly dampened the euphoria. While Mizuho confirmed its “Outperform” rating last week, it lowered the price target from USD 1,375 to USD 1,300. The adjustment is less a criticism of Micron itself and more the result of a more cautious assessment of the semiconductor sector as a whole.
The AI hype is far from over. This is evident from the quarterly results of Nvidia and Nebius, as well as Micron’s investments. What may be needed even more urgently than semiconductors, however, is energy infrastructure. Demand for power infrastructure is being driven by the same build-out that is driving demand for semiconductors. NU E Power’s model is positioned against that demand, and its projects remain at the development stage.
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