Federal government to turn a Kentucky uranium plant into an AI data center and gas power complex - ABC News
The U.S. Department of Energy plans to convert a former uranium enrichment plant in Paducah, Kentucky, into a $100 billion AI data center complex. Investment firm Brookfield Asset Management will develop and operate the site, which will include a 2-gigawatt natural gas and battery storage power plant built by NextEra Energy. This initiative aims to transform federal sites into "engines of innovation" to secure U.S. leadership in AI.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced a significant public-private partnership to transform a former Cold War-era uranium enrichment site in Paducah, Kentucky, into a $100 billion artificial intelligence data center complex. This initiative, part of the Trump administration's broader strategy to establish U.S. superiority in AI, aims to convert federal sites into "engines of innovation and economic growth." Energy Secretary Chris Wright stated the project will bring thousands of jobs and tens of billions of dollars of investment to rural western Kentucky.
Investment firm Brookfield Asset Management has been selected by the DOE to develop and operate the data center at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant. Florida-based NextEra Energy will build and own an on-site power plant, featuring 2 gigawatts of natural gas-fired generation, transmission network upgrades, and 2.6 gigawatts of battery energy storage, all designed to support a new 1.8 gigawatt AI data center campus. The power service agreement requires approval from state utility regulators, with construction projected to conclude by 2031.
This development mirrors a similar DOE project announced in March for the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Ohio, and an earlier July announcement involving Amentum for the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. The Kentucky project is designed to align with ongoing environmental cleanup efforts at the 3,550-acre Paducah plant, which ceased operations in 2013 and is undergoing decontamination, decommissioning, and groundwater contamination treatment, with cleanup completion projected for 2065 at an estimated cost of $17 billion.