Data center profile · 422767 State Route 20, Usk, Pend Oreille County, Washington

Merkle Standard Usk (former Ponderay Newsprint mill)

Bitcoin-mining site at former newsprint mill in Usk, Washington, capped at 100 MW; reported 225 MW data center expansion has no agreement, permit or tenant.

Mining site, expansion only discussed. Mining has run at the mill site since late 2021 under a power contract with the local public utility district. The 225 MW expansion was first reported in Sept. 2026 and no application, permit, agreement or board action for it is on record.
100 MW
power cap on the 2022 mining contract
cryptocurrency mining load only; that short-term contract expired Sept. 30, 2023 and the current terms are not public
225 MW
expansion discussed, not agreed
the company also advertises 225 MW of power infrastructure at the site; the utility board has taken no public action
~87 MW
average load of the former paper mill
the rest of the utility's homes and small businesses average about 30 MW combined (press)
927 acres
site, with 29 buildings (press)
the company says about 900 acres
OperatorMerkle Standard Infrastructure (owned by Allrise Capital)
CustomerNone named: self-operated mining, no outside tenant or AI customer named
Planned IT capacity180 MW at full build-out (our estimate from the company's 225 MW campus power figure)
First building in serviceOur estimate: 2028 (range 2027 to 2030).
Next stepNone published; the utility board and county have no expansion item before them
Power

Power and the grid

100 MW contracted

Pend Oreille PUD service (mining load)In service
100 MW
the cap in the 2022 contract, for bitcoin mining; the contract expired Sept. 2023 and the current terms are not public Utility regulator · Aug. 2022
Expansion serviceDiscussed only
225 MW
discussed since 2024; no agreement, study result or board action on record News report · Sept. 2026
ContractedProposed

Getting on the grid

Who supplies what, what it costs, and what is still not public.

  1. Aug. 15, 2022
    Mining contract signed
    The utility signs a prepaid, take-or-pay contract for up to 100 MW, backed by a parent guaranty and letter of credit. Utility regulator · Aug. 2022
  2. Dec. 16, 2025
    Current counterparty named
    The utility's 2026 budget bases revenue on the current contract with Merkle Standard Infrastructure; terms are not public. Utility regulator · Dec. 2025
  3. Not set
    Expansion agreement: none
    No agreement, application or approval for service above 100 MW exists in any public record. see Permits
Permits

Permits checklist

2 granted · 2 checked, nothing on file

Approvals a campus like this normally needs (including an air permit for backup or on-site generators), and what we found.

Risks

What could slow it down

Money

Money on record

$100M+
BPA estimate for the largest power scenario studied
from a 2022 study of up to 600 MW; over $40M even for a 145 MW step; historical talk, not a current plan (press) News report · Sept. 2022
~$21M
utility's 2027 forecast revenue from large industrial customers
the board report has no Merkle or data center item Utility regulator · Oct. 2026
Timeline

What happened, and what is due

SitePaper trailConstructionPowerPermitsMoneyLegalUpcoming
  1. Aug. 3, 2021
    Power The utility board unanimously approves an interim 1.5 MW supply agreement with the new site owner Utility regulator · Aug. 2021
  2. May 2022
    Permits The county hearing examiner denies residents' appeal and approves the permit for the mining operation (press) News report · Sept. 2022
  3. Aug. 15, 2022
    Power The utility signs a short-term contract letting Cascade Digital Mining buy up to 100 MW for mining Utility regulator · Aug. 2022
  4. Sept. 2023
    Power The 2022 power contract expires; successor terms are not published Utility regulator · Aug. 2022
  5. Dec. 16, 2025
    Power The utility's 2026 budget names Merkle Standard Infrastructure as the current contract counterparty Utility regulator · Dec. 2025
  6. Sept. 27, 2026
    Site A newspaper first reports talks since 2024 on delivering 225 MW to the mill site; the county and the Kalispel Tribe have not been briefed News report · Sept. 2026
  7. Sept. 29, 2026
    Power The utility board meets with no Merkle Standard or data center item on its agenda or in its minutes Utility regulator · Sept. 2026
  8. Oct. 14, 2026
    Legal A county commissioner publicly opposes the expansion and questions whether it fits existing land-use approvals News report · Oct. 2026
The buildings

Specs

350,000 sq ft
usable open building space, company says; former newsprint mill buildings
Company · Oct. 2026
Mining since late 2021
a mix of air-cooled and liquid-cooled miners
News report · Sept. 2026
Who is involved

Owners, partners and builders

Owners and developers
  • Merkle Standard Infrastructure: operator and proponent of the expansion
  • Allrise Capital (Irvine, California): parent company and guarantor on the 2022 contract
  • Ponderay Real Estate: site owner since the 2021 bankruptcy auction
Power
  • Pend Oreille County Public Utility District: serving utility
  • Bonneville Power Administration: studies gate any load increase
  • Shell Energy North America: wholesale supplier for market purchases
Decision-makers
  • Pend Oreille PUD Board of Commissioners: power contracts
  • Pend Oreille County: land use
Still unknown

Open questions

Where this comes from

96 records from 13 documents

Drawn from utility regulator dockets, news reports, company statements, public and commercial datasets and state agency records, each kept with its date and source. The bar shows documents by type.

Utility regulator 6News report 3Company 2Dataset 2State agency 1
Evidence

Every quote behind this page

Grade key: A = the primary record itself (permit, filing, exhibit) · B = a dated official statement · C = news reporting. Map distances are our own measurements on OpenStreetMap and carry no grade. Allegations in lawsuits are marked as such in the quotes.

Power (23)
  • Power plan: grid, interruptible/curtailable mining load
    “Merkle Standard operates a curtailable load, scaling down operations in times of intense energy demand to give back to the grid”
    Company · Oct. 2026 · grade B
  • Stated campus size: 225 MW
    “Our flagship mining facility features 225 MW of power infrastructure, 900 acres of land, and over 350,000 square feet of usable open building space”
    Company · Oct. 2026 · grade B
  • On-site generation: not stated
    “In 2022, Merkle Standard built out a digital asset datacenter that hosts a mix of air cooled and liquid cooled miners”
    Company · Oct. 2026 · grade B
  • Company-wide figures are NOT this campus: Merkle's own pages list Tennessee campuses (Memphis area 45 MW; Morristown 25 MW), a Kentucky site (6 MW), a 321.5 MW all-site nameplate projection for 2026, and the Feb 2022 Bit
    “That 45 MW facility in the Memphis area houses more than 15,000 air cooled ASICs”
    Company · Oct. 2026 · grade B
  • Utility: Pend Oreille County Public Utility District (PUD No. 1 of Pend Oreille County)
    “Public Utility District No. 1 of Pend Oreille County (the PUD) and Cascade Digital Mining, LLC (Cascade) have executed a contract for power deliveries to the Usk site”
    Utility regulator · Aug. 2022 · grade B
  • Utility service: 100 MW
    “The power contract allows Cascade to purchase up to 100 megawatts (MW) of energy for its cryptocurrency mining operations”
    Utility regulator · Aug. 2022 · grade B
  • Grid operator: none (no ISO/RTO; BPA region, Avista balancing area)
    “The PUD recently extended its balancing area services agreement with Avista, which ensures the PUD's electrical loads and resources remain balanced throughout the day”
    Utility regulator · Aug. 2021 · grade B
  • The site owner's original letter of intent asked for load ramping to 125 MW by late 2021, 144 MW by January 2022 and 300 MW by July 2023, contemplating BOTH a paper-mill restart and data center/cryptomining load. The mil
    “The letter estimates Ponderay's load to increase up to 125 MW by late 2021, up to 144 MW by January 2022, and up to 300 MW by July 2023”
    Utility regulator · Aug. 2021 · grade B
  • IT capacity: not stated
    “We operate a large cluster of both general-purpose and dedicated application specific (ASIC) computers”
    News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
  • Original target date: not stated
    “to discuss a power study and costs of necessary system upgrades that could eventually deliver 225 megawatts of electricity to the old papermill”
    News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
  • Current target date: not stated
    “to discuss a power study and costs of necessary system upgrades that could eventually deliver 225 megawatts of electricity to the old papermill”
    News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
  • Regulatory jurisdiction: Land use: Pend Oreille County (conditional use permit decided by the county hearing examiner; the expansion has NOT been presented to the county commissioners). Electric service: Pend Oreille PUD
    “decisions about electric service and transmission infrastructure fall in part under the authority of the Pend Oreille Public Utility District”
    News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
  • Utility service: 225 MW
    “to discuss a power study and costs of necessary system upgrades that could eventually deliver 225 megawatts of electricity to the old papermill”
    News report · Sept. 2026 · grade C
  • Utility: Pend Oreille County Public Utility District (PUD #1)
    “began discussions in 2024 with the Pend Oreille County Public Utility District to see if it could boost its electricity load at the former Ponderay Newsprint papermill in Usk”
    News report · Sept. 2026 · grade C
  • Base site status: operating since late 2021 (ASIC mining + general-purpose computers); outside the 225 MW expansion scope
    “Since our first data center operations started in late 2021, we have operated several types of computers, including specialized computers that help secure the global database for digital assets”
    News report · Sept. 2026 · grade C
  • Load classification: interruptible digital-asset (cryptocurrency) mining load, self-operated; not conventional IT capacity
    “We operate a large cluster of both general-purpose and dedicated application specific (ASIC) computers”
    News report · Sept. 2026 · grade C
  • Utility service: 225 MW
    “to discuss a power study and costs of necessary system upgrades that could eventually deliver 225 megawatts of electricity to the old papermill”
    News report · Sept. 2026 · grade C
  • Construction stage: no construction for the 225 MW expansion; base mining operation in service since late 2021 inside the former mill buildings
    “Since our first data center operations started in late 2021, we have operated several types of computers”
    News report · Sept. 2026 · grade C
  • Historical 600 MW figure promoted by former Allrise CEO for a potential cryptocurrency mining operation at the mill
    “immediately began promoting the mill as a potential cryptocurrency mining giant that eventually could use 600 megawatts of power”
    News report · Sept. 2026 · grade C
  • Existing electrical infrastructure at the former mill has capacity to handle about 100 MW; the mill itself operated on about 87 MW - context for why 225 MW would need system upgrades
    “The papermill, which had been the county's largest employer before it closed, operated on about 87 megawatts a year, and the electrical infrastructure at the plant has the capacity to handle about 100 megawatts”
    News report · Sept. 2026 · grade C
  • First public reporting of the expansion: the Spokesman-Review reveals Merkle–PUD discussions since 2024 toward delivering 225 MW to the Usk site; nothing had been presented to county commissioners or the Kalispel Tribe.
    “None of those discussions has been made public, and nothing has officially been presented to either Pend Oreille County commissioners or the Kalispel Tribe of Indians”
    News report · Sept. 2026 · grade C
  • Scale vs host utility: the former mill ran at about 87 MW average; all other PUD residential and small-business customers average about 30 MW combined; the PUD's own Box Canyon hydro project is 90 MW. A 225 MW delivery w
    “For scale, all the residential and small business customers of the PUD use an average of about 30 megawatts, said Curt Knapp, who will soon retire as a PUD commissioner”
    News report · Sept. 2026 · grade C
  • The company studied raising intake to as much as 600 MW; BPA estimated more than $100M of infrastructure for the largest scenario and over $40M even for a 145 MW step, with multi-year timelines. Historical ceiling talk,
    “Merkle Standard had a study conducted to look at how much it'd have to pay to increase that intake even more, up to 600 megawatts”
    News report · Sept. 2022 · grade C
Money and contracts (17)
  • power supply contract (current): scope, existence and current status
    “The budget amount for 2026 is based on the current contract with MSI”
    Utility regulator · Dec. 2025 · grade A
  • power supply contract (current): termination, FINDING: not public
    “The budget amount for 2026 is based on the current contract with MSI”
    Utility regulator · Dec. 2025 · grade A
  • The PUD's adopted 2026 budget names the current Usk-site contract counterparty as Merkle Standard Infrastructure (MSI); the 2022 executed contract was with Cascade Digital Mining, LLC. Successor terms are not public.
    “The budget amount for 2026 is based on the current contract with MSI”
    Utility regulator · Dec. 2025 · grade A
  • joint venture / equipment agreement: scope, platform-level, not a campus power agreement 500 MW
    “Merkle Signs 500 MW Joint Venture Agreement with BITMAIN”
    Company · Oct. 2026 · grade B
  • power supply contract: scope 100 MW
    “The power contract allows Cascade to purchase up to 100 megawatts (MW) of energy for its cryptocurrency mining operations”
    Utility regulator · Aug. 2022 · grade B
  • power supply contract: term
    “The short-term contract commences September 1, 2022, and runs through September 30, 2023”
    Utility regulator · Aug. 2022 · grade B
  • power supply contract: scope, supply mix
    “The power contract requires Cascade to purchase a designated amount of power from the PUD's existing resources, and allows Cascade to make monthly elections for market power purchased through the PUD at market prices”
    Utility regulator · Aug. 2022 · grade B
  • power supply contract: condition, prepayment and take-or-pay
    “Cascade is required to prepay for all of its power, and has take-or-pay obligations for certain service delivery fees to the PUD and the PUD's wholesale provider, Shell Energy North America (US), L.P. (Shell Energy)”
    Utility regulator · Aug. 2022 · grade B
  • power supply contract: security, guaranty and letter of credit
    “As required by the contract, Cascade provided a guaranty from Allrise and a confirmed letter of credit as security for the transaction”
    Utility regulator · Aug. 2022 · grade B
  • wholesale power agreement: scope
    “The PUD also executed a wholesale power agreement with Shell Energy to provide a substantial amount of Cascade's anticipated market power purchases”
    Utility regulator · Aug. 2022 · grade B
  • cost reimbursement agreement: cost recovery
    “All costs associated with preparing for this transaction were charged to the customer under a separate cost reimbursement agreement”
    Utility regulator · Aug. 2022 · grade B
  • interim power supply agreement: scope 1.5 MW
    “The interim agreement provides Ponderay up to 1.5 megawatts (MW) of power each hour during the term of the agreement, which runs through June 30, 2022”
    Utility regulator · Aug. 2021 · grade B
  • interim power supply agreement: security, cash deposit 100000 USD
    “The agreement provides contractual protections for the PUD, including two months of cash security totaling about $100,000 to ensure timely payment”
    Utility regulator · Aug. 2021 · grade B
  • cost reimbursement agreement: cost recovery 100000 USD
    “All of the PUD's work on behalf of Ponderay is done at Ponderay's cost, under the terms of a Cost Reimbursement Agreement between the parties, which required an initial deposit of $100,000”
    Utility regulator · Aug. 2021 · grade B
  • Tenants: none (self-operated; no external tenant or AI customer named for the base operation or the expansion)
    “We operate a large cluster of both general-purpose and dedicated application specific (ASIC) computers”
    News report · Sept. 2026 · grade C
  • Tenant status: no third-party tenant identified
    “We operate a large cluster of both general-purpose and dedicated application specific (ASIC) computers”
    News report · Sept. 2026 · grade C
  • expansion power arrangement: scope, FINDING: no agreement exists
    “None of those discussions has been made public, and nothing has officially been presented to either Pend Oreille County commissioners or the Kalispel Tribe of Indians”
    News report · Sept. 2026 · grade C
Permits and government (8)
  • Pend Oreille PUD Board of Commissioners: Regular meeting (Box Canyon Dam / Teams), NO Merkle Standard, Cascade Digital or data-center item on the agenda or in the approved minutes; business was Bare Mountain Substation
    “Commissioner Knapp provided the guidelines for the session and asked if there was any business or comments from the public. There was none.”
    Utility regulator · Sept. 2026 · grade A
  • Pend Oreille PUD Board of Commissioners: Regular meeting (Newport), no Merkle Standard or data-center item in the board meeting report; 2027 draft budget presented, including about $21M forecast large-industrial revenue
    “For large industrial customers, the PUD is forecasting approximately $21 million in revenue in 2027”
    Utility regulator · Oct. 2026 · grade B
  • Pend Oreille PUD Board of Commissioners: Interim power supply agreement with Ponderay Real Estate, LLC (up to 1.5 MW through Jun 30, 2022)
    “The Board of Commissioners for Public Utility District No. 1 of Pend Oreille County (PUD) unanimously approved an interim power supply agreement with Ponderay Real Estate, LLC (Ponderay), a subsidiary of Allrise Capital”
    Utility regulator · Aug. 2021 · grade B
  • expansion land-use / building permits: none found
    “He said he is concerned about relying on the company to cover those costs and believes the county should carefully examine whether a proposed expansion would comply with existing landuse approvals”
    News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
  • conditional use permit: approved
    “In May, the county hearing examiner shot down the appeal and approved the conditional use permit, with the requirement that the crypto operation follows state noise rules”
    News report · Sept. 2022 · grade C
  • SEPA determination of non-significance: appeal denied (DNS upheld)
    “Richards, the Army veteran who runs a website called Protect Pend Oreille, and retired biologist Ed Styskel protested the county's determination of non-significance for the project”
    News report · Sept. 2022 · grade C
  • Pend Oreille County Hearing Examiner: Conditional use permit for cryptocurrency mining operation; appeal of SEPA determination of non-significance
    “In May, the county hearing examiner shot down the appeal and approved the conditional use permit, with the requirement that the crypto operation follows state noise rules”
    News report · Sept. 2022 · grade C
  • conditional use permit: received
    “In late May, 2022, Allrise Capital received a conditional use permit from Pend Oreille County, allowing the project to proceed, although this permit is currently being appealed”
    Dataset · May 2022 · grade C
Site and other (16)
  • Operator: Merkle Standard Infrastructure LLC
    “Usk Site revenue represents energy usage by Ponderay Real Estate LLC, Cascade Digital or Merkle Standard Infrastructure (MSI) at the mill site”
    Utility regulator · Dec. 2025 · grade A
  • Address: 422767 State Route 20, Usk, WA 99180
    “Ponderay Industries site, 422767 State Route 20, Usk”
    grade B
  • Site address: 422767 State Route 20, Usk, WA 99180
    “Location: 422767 State Rte 20, Usk, WA 99180 (former Ponderay Newsprint Mill, Global Energy Monitor project page)”
    Dataset · Oct. 2026 · grade C
  • Stage: announced
    “None of those discussions has been made public, and nothing has officially been presented to either Pend Oreille County commissioners or the Kalispel Tribe of Indians”
    News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
  • County Commissioner Rosencrantz publicly opposes the expansion, questions whether it complies with existing land-use approvals, and notes he has not reviewed any project documents; a PUD commissioner candidate called the
    “He expressed particular concern about the possibility of expanding the Merkle Standard facility, the former paper mill site, into a data center with a reported capacity of 225 megawatts”
    News report · Oct. 2026 · grade C
  • County code: 53051
    “Merkle Standard, which is owned by Irvine, California-based Allrise Capital Inc., began discussions in 2024 with the Pend Oreille County Public Utility District”
    News report · Sept. 2026 · grade C
  • Project status: announced only
    “None of those discussions has been made public, and nothing has officially been presented to either Pend Oreille County commissioners or the Kalispel Tribe of Indians”
    News report · Sept. 2026 · grade C
  • Developer: Merkle Standard Infrastructure
    “PUD general manager Chris Jones has been meeting with Merkle officials, who now call their company Merkle Standard Infrastructure”
    News report · Sept. 2026 · grade C
  • Campus name: Merkle Standard Usk expansion
    “Merkle Standard, which is owned by Irvine, California-based Allrise Capital Inc., began discussions in 2024 with the Pend Oreille County Public Utility District”
    News report · Sept. 2026 · grade C
  • City: Usk
    “began discussions in 2024 with the Pend Oreille County Public Utility District to see if it could boost its electricity load at the former Ponderay Newsprint papermill in Usk”
    News report · Sept. 2026 · grade C
  • State: WA
    “Merkle Standard has operated a data center at the Usk WA facility for about 5 years”
    News report · Sept. 2026 · grade C
  • Developer: Merkle Standard Infrastructure (Merkle Standard)
    “PUD general manager Chris Jones has been meeting with Merkle officials, who now call their company Merkle Standard Infrastructure”
    News report · Sept. 2026 · grade C
  • Operating model: self-operated computing facility (digital-asset mining plus general-purpose computers); no external tenant
    “Since our first data center operations started in late 2021, we have operated several types of computers, including specialized computers that help secure the global database for digital assets”
    News report · Sept. 2026 · grade C
  • Site history: Former Ponderay Newsprint mill; Ponderay Newsprint Company bankrupt in 2020 (mill closed, 140 jobs lost); site bought mid-2021 by Ponderay Real Estate, LLC (Allrise Capital) at the Chapter 7 auction; mining
    “Up until they auctioned off the print mill equipment (in 2025), they were promising all these jobs were coming back”
    News report · Sept. 2026 · grade C
  • Site area: 927 acres
    “the promised restart and the return of 140 jobs never materialized at the 927-acre property, which consists of 29 buildings and storage facilities”
    News report · Sept. 2026 · grade C
  • The Kalispel Tribe of Indians (reservation directly across the Pend Oreille River from the site) states Merkle has not reached out for consultation and that it has no information on the proposed data center's chemicals,
    “Merkle Standard officials have not reached out to the tribe, which is a neighbor, for consultation or comment, he said”
    News report · Sept. 2026 · grade C