Beshear says he 'hasn’t been briefed' on Paducah data center campus

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear's spokesperson, Jack Richter, announced that the governor has not been briefed by companies or agencies involved in the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) plan to redevelop portions of the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant into a data center campus. The DOE had made its announcement on July 29 regarding the West Paducah site, which is projected to attract over $100 billion in private investment and create 8,000 temporary construction jobs and 600 permanent positions.

Governor Beshear has raised concerns about the project's power needs, potential environmental impact, job creation, and whether it will contribute its fair share in taxes to the community. Despite the governor's office's claim of not being briefed, a DOE spokesperson stated that notifications were provided to the Governor's office in the weeks prior to the announcement, calling it "standard practice."

Brookfield is slated to develop and operate the data center campus, while NextEra Energy will be responsible for constructing and owning the energy infrastructure, pending approval from the Kentucky Public Service Commission. DOE officials indicated that the project's generation and storage capacity would exceed the campus’s needs, allowing excess electricity to be fed into the regional grid, potentially reducing energy costs. U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright highlighted the project's alignment with the Ratepayer Protection Pledge, aiming to support the AI revolution while lowering energy costs. The West Paducah site, a former uranium enrichment plant, closed in 2013 and is currently undergoing environmental cleanup by the DOE. Construction of the new infrastructure and data center campus is anticipated to be completed by 2031.