--- title: "TeraWulf sues its host town of Lansing over public records" description: "The petition lands a week before Lansing votes on a local law that would prohibit data centers outright, the use TeraWulf's unleased 320 MW Lake Hawkeye campus depends on. Roughly 2.1 GW of the company's controlled capacity has no tenant, and WULF holders own that risk at around $12." publisher: "The Inference" section: "Data Center" published: 2026-11-10T20:14:50.659Z modified: 2026-11-10T20:14:50.659Z canonical: https://theinference.org/article/terawulf-sues-its-host-town-of-lansing-over-public-records language: en keywords: "TeraWulf, Data Centers, Legal, Zoning, Bitcoin Mining" --- # TeraWulf sues its host town of Lansing over public records > The petition lands a week before Lansing votes on a local law that would prohibit data centers outright, the use TeraWulf's unleased 320 MW Lake Hawkeye campus depends on. Roughly 2.1 GW of the company's controlled capacity has no tenant, and WULF holders own that risk at around $12. [TeraWulf](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/terawulf)'s Lansing subsidiary, Lake Hawkeye LLC, asked a Tompkins County Supreme Court judge on November 3 to order the Town of Lansing to release public records, alleging that [at least two Freedom of Information Law requests](https://www.fingerlakes1.com/2026/11/09/terawulf-takes-lansing-to-court-over-records-requests-as-data-center-ban-advances/) drew legally insufficient answers and that board members conducted public business on a private email listserv in violation of New York's Open Meetings Law [1][2]. An Article 78 petition, the state's route for judicial review of a government decision, is a claim for a judge, not a finding of wrongdoing [1][2]. "After exhausting the administrative process" the company filed, Chief Strategy Officer Kerri Langlais said, "to obtain information we believe the public is entitled to access" [1]. Town Supervisor Ruth Groff declined to comment [1]. ## A ban vote sits one week out Lansing's Town Board has called a special meeting for November 17 at the middle school auditorium to take public comment on a local law that would leave data centers and cryptocurrency mines off the town's schedule of permitted uses, an explicit prohibition [1]. The board ordered the draft in September, questioning whether the industry fits the community and whether town staff could carry the review load [1]. Chairman and CEO Paul Prager told residents in a October 25 letter that TeraWulf had invested under the existing rules and deserved review on the merits [1]. The board withdrew an earlier moratorium in November 2025 after TeraWulf threatened to sue, then introduced a redefinition of "general processing" covering only tangible goods [2]. ## The site in the crosshairs has no tenant Lake Hawkeye is the former 300 MW Cayuga coal plant on Cayuga Lake, a 183-acre parcel under long-term lease with triple-redundant 115 kV transmission [3]. TeraWulf's own disclosure puts it at [320 MW of critical IT capacity](https://www.terawulf.com/our-sites), the power a campus can deliver to servers, with zero contracted [3]. Across five campuses the company [counts 2.9 GW controlled against 839 MW contracted](https://www.terawulf.com/), leaving roughly 2.1 GW open, and Lake Hawkeye is the only open site with a ban vote on a calendar [3][4]. [Jefferies](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/jefferies) [cut its WULF target to $14 from $15](https://stocktwits.com/news-articles/markets/equity/wulf-hut-cifr-stocks-get-price-target-cuts-from-jefferies-here-s-why-the-analyst-is-still-bullish-on-these-ai-infra-firms/cNGuIUkR97m) on November 9 while keeping a Buy rating, on meaningful contracted capacity but limited delivered megawatts [5]. The stock trades near $12, down from a 52-week high of $29.84 [6]. *Chart: **Only two of five TeraWulf campuses have a tenant** Column chart comparing contracted versus open critical IT capacity in megawatts across TeraWulf's five campuses, with Lake Hawkeye highlighted at 320 MW open and zero contracted.* *Company-reported critical IT capacity by campus, in megawatts, from TeraWulf site disclosures accessed November 10, 2026. Lake Mariner is operating, Justified in development, the other three in permitting or planning. [3][7]* ## The contracted megawatts sit in Kentucky Justified, the Kentucky campus, is the model: 401 MW fully leased to [Anthropic](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/anthropic) for [20 years at roughly $19 billion in contracted revenue](https://www.theblock.co/news/business/2026-11-06-terawulfs-bitcoin-mining-revenue-falls-69-as-hpc-leasing-surges-amid-anthropic-buildout-435885), financing backstopped by Google, construction under a [definitive Fluor contract on the $4 billion site](https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/articles/fluor-wins-epc-contract-4b-154306281.html) [7][8]. [The Inference covered the $63 million quarterly AI lease line](https://theinference.org/article/terawulf-s-63-million-ai-lease-line-contains-46-million-of-rent) on November 9 and [the Google backstop](https://theinference.org/article/google-backstops-anthropic-s-19-billion-terawulf-lease-and-takes-equity-if-anthropic-stops-paying) on November 4; Lake Hawkeye is the exposure neither piece priced. ## Squeezed from both directions FLX Strong and Cayuga Lake Environmental Action Now petitioned in January against the December 2025 zoning ruling that lets the project proceed as general processing, so TeraWulf now fights the town over records while environmentalists fight the interpretation that opened the door [1]. If the board passes the ban on November 17 and it holds, 320 MW of open pipeline loses its zoning path, and the next question is whether TeraWulf's lawyers move from process to the law itself. Every megawatt without a lease is a megawatt a town board can still take away. ## Takeaway TeraWulf's November 3 Article 78 petition against Lansing lands a week before a vote on a law that would bar data centers outright, putting its tenantless 320 MW Lake Hawkeye campus and roughly 2.1 GW of unleased capacity at risk. ## Sources 1. [FingerLakes1.com, "TeraWulf takes Lansing to court over records requests as data center ban advances," 9 November 2026](https://www.fingerlakes1.com/2026/11/09/terawulf-takes-lansing-to-court-over-records-requests-as-data-center-ban-advances/) 2. [Hoodline, "TeraWulf's Lansing Lawsuit Puts Records Access and Data-Center Rules in Focus," 7 November 2026](https://hoodline.com/2026/11/terawulf-s-lansing-lawsuit-puts-records-access-and-data-center-rules-in-focus/) 3. [TeraWulf, "Our Sites" campus disclosures (Lake Mariner, Justified, Muskie, Lake Hawkeye, Chesapeake), accessed 10 November 2026](https://www.terawulf.com/our-sites) 4. [TeraWulf corporate homepage (2.9 GW controlled, 839 MW contracted), accessed 10 November 2026](https://www.terawulf.com/) 5. [Stocktwits News, "WULF, HUT, CIFR Stocks Get Price Target Cuts From Jefferies," 10 November 2026](https://stocktwits.com/news-articles/markets/equity/wulf-hut-cifr-stocks-get-price-target-cuts-from-jefferies-here-s-why-the-analyst-is-still-bullish-on-these-ai-infra-firms/cNGuIUkR97m) 6. [TeraWulf Investor Relations, overview page (WULF quote and 52-week range), accessed 10 November 2026](https://investors.terawulf.com/overview) 7. [The Block, "TeraWulf's bitcoin mining revenue falls 69% as HPC leasing surges amid Anthropic buildout," 6 November 2026](https://www.theblock.co/news/business/2026-11-06-terawulfs-bitcoin-mining-revenue-falls-69-as-hpc-leasing-surges-amid-anthropic-buildout-435885) 8. [Construction Dive via Yahoo Finance, "Fluor wins EPC contract on $4B Kentucky data center campus," 9 November 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/articles/fluor-wins-epc-contract-4b-154306281.html) --- TeraWulf sues its host town of Lansing over public records — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/terawulf-sues-its-host-town-of-lansing-over-public-records