Brookfield CEO Bruce Flatt on why $100B data center is 'super exciting' for America

Brookfield Corporation CEO Bruce Flatt, in a CNBC exclusive interview, announced plans for a $100 billion data center campus in Kentucky, a joint venture with NextEra Energy. The ambitious project, expected to be completed by 2032, will be situated on a former uranium enrichment site owned by the Department of Energy, leveraging federal lands for development.

Flatt highlighted the critical need for power in America, with NextEra Energy committed to building two gigawatts of gas plants and two gigawatts of batteries to support the data center. He emphasized that the U.S. Administration is facilitating the reuse of past industrial sites for such large-scale data center construction, crucial for driving economic productivity through artificial intelligence.

Addressing concerns about community backlash and "not in my backyard" sentiment, Flatt noted that the Kentucky site is on federal land, allowing for immediate construction. He acknowledged that while some states and localities are resistant to data center development, those that support it will ultimately "win in the longer run," and that early resistance is part of a 10-15 year build-out process. He also mentioned the New York Governor's moratorium on data center bills as an example of such resistance.

Flatt also stressed the importance of data center developers bringing their own power infrastructure, a strategy Brookfield employs, to gain "social license" and address ratepayer concerns. He indicated that the United States has adopted a policy requiring major data centers to integrate their own power solutions.