Trump officials announce data center and gas plants for former Ohio uranium site

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a public-private partnership on Friday to develop a substantial data center and associated power supply at the decommissioned Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Pike County, Ohio. Branded the "PORTS Technology Campus," the project is slated to include a 10-gigawatt data center and up to 10 gigawatts of new power generation, with 9.2 gigawatts from natural gas. This initiative is part of a broader federal push to advance artificial intelligence technology, following a directive from President Donald Trump for tech companies to develop their own power generation. SoftBank Group, through its affiliate SB Energy, is partnering with AEP Ohio to build the necessary power generation and transmission infrastructure, involving a $4.2 billion investment in grid upgrades that the companies claim will not increase customer rates. The project is linked to the U.S.-Japan Strategic Trade and Investment Agreement, with $33.3 billion in Japanese funding allocated for the natural gas component. Energy Secretary Chris Wright emphasized that the project will boost power generation, create jobs, and enhance U.S. competitiveness in the AI sector. The announcement comes just days after a group of rural Ohio residents filed a petition for a statewide ballot initiative seeking a constitutional ban on mega data centers, reflecting growing concerns over the environmental, financial, and societal impacts of AI infrastructure. Construction on the Portsmouth project is expected to commence this year, promising thousands of jobs and supporting research in areas like fusion energy and quantum computing, with excess power capacity to be fed back into the grid.