$100 billion AI data center campus planned for Paducah DOE site

A coalition of energy and infrastructure companies has announced plans for a $100 billion AI data center and power-generation campus at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Paducah Site in Paducah, Kentucky. This privately funded initiative is projected to generate approximately 8,000 construction jobs and 600 permanent operational positions upon completion, which is anticipated by 2032.

The partnership includes Brookfield, which will lease federal land to develop and operate the data center campus, and NextEra Energy, responsible for building and owning the necessary power infrastructure. The campus is designed to support up to 1.8 gigawatts of utility capacity and more than 1.2 gigawatts of computing capacity, incorporating plans for up to 2 gigawatts of natural gas generation and 2.6 gigawatts of battery storage, to be added incrementally. Local utilities Big Rivers Electric Power Corp. will provide wholesale electricity, while Jackson Purchase Energy Cooperative will handle retail service, with Paducah Power System acting as a community partner.

NextEra Energy Chairman and CEO John Ketchum stated that the project exemplifies how AI infrastructure should be developed in America, emphasizing that the data center will provide its own power infrastructure, paid for by the project, ensuring costs are not passed to existing residential and small-business customers. The development reuses part of a former uranium enrichment site, leveraging existing infrastructure like transmission capacity, water, and fiber connections. The proposed power agreement is currently awaiting review and approval from the Kentucky Public Service Commission, and the entire project remains subject to final negotiations.