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Coalition to build data center and dedicated power campus at DOE's Paducah site

Coalition to build data center and dedicated power campus at DOE's Paducah site

Built World

A $100 billion project turns a shuttered Cold War uranium plant into an AI computing and power hub

Today: $100 billion Paducah campus announced

Overview

A Cold War uranium plant near Paducah, Kentucky enriched fuel for bombs and reactors, then sat idle after 2013. Now a coalition led by Brookfield and NextEra Energy plans to spend about $100 billion turning part of that federal land into one of the country's largest AI computing campuses.

The plan pairs the data center with its own power plants. The project pays for up to 4.6 gigawatts of new generation built only to serve the site, so existing households and small businesses are not billed for the campus's electricity.

Why it matters

AI data centers are straining local grids and raising home power bills. This project tests whether builders can pay for their own electricity instead.

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Key Indicators

$100B
Private investment
Privately funded, not paid for by existing utility customers.
4.6 GW
New dedicated generation
Up to 2 GW of natural gas plus 2.6 GW of battery storage built for the site.
1.2 GW
Computing capacity
Over 1.2 gigawatts of compute load, with 1.8 GW of total utility capacity.
8,000
Construction jobs
Temporary jobs during the build-out, plus 600 permanent operations roles.
2032
Target full build-out
Construction is expected to wrap up around 2031-2032.

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People Involved

Organizations Involved

Timeline

January 1952 July 2026

5 events Latest: Today
Tap a bar to jump to that date
  1. $100 billion Paducah campus announced

    Today Announcement

    Brookfield and NextEra lead a coalition to build a data center campus with up to 4.6 GW of dedicated new power, targeting full build-out by 2032.

  2. DOE opens four federal sites to AI developers

    Policy

    The Department of Energy names Paducah, Idaho National Laboratory, Oak Ridge and Savannah River for private data center and power projects.

  3. Enrichment ends, plant returns to DOE

    Background

    Commercial enrichment stops and the facilities go back to the Department of Energy's cleanup program.

  4. Site added to Superfund list

    Background

    Contamination of soil and groundwater lands the plant on the federal Superfund National Priorities List.

  5. Paducah uranium plant opens

    Background

    The Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant begins enriching uranium, first for weapons and later for reactor fuel.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

2015-2020

Hanford site reuse push (2015-2020)

The Department of Energy sought private reuse of parts of its Hanford nuclear reservation in Washington, another Cold War weapons site under long-term cleanup. Some parcels drew solar and industrial interest while remediation continued nearby.

Then

A few parcels saw new use, but active cleanup limited how much land could be redeveloped quickly.

Now

It showed that contaminated federal sites can be partly repurposed, though environmental work sets the pace.

Why this matters now

Paducah is also an active cleanup site. Hanford shows both the appeal and the friction of building on legacy nuclear land.

March 2024

Amazon-Talen nuclear-powered data center deal (2024)

Amazon agreed to buy a data center campus next to Talen Energy's Susquehanna nuclear plant in Pennsylvania, drawing power directly from the reactor rather than the open grid. Regulators later scrutinized the arrangement.

Then

The deal advanced the idea of pairing big computing loads with dedicated on-site power.

Now

It sparked a national debate over whether such deals help or shift costs onto other grid customers.

Why this matters now

Paducah uses the same co-location logic but adds new-build gas and batteries, aiming to answer the cost-shifting worry directly.

2017-2021

Foxconn Wisconsin plant (2017-2021)

Foxconn promised a $10 billion factory and 13,000 jobs in Wisconsin with heavy public backing. The project was repeatedly downsized and delivered a fraction of what was pledged.

Then

Early groundbreaking and political fanfare gave way to shrinking targets.

Now

It became a cautionary tale about the gap between megaproject announcements and what gets built.

Why this matters now

The $100 billion Paducah figure is an announcement, not a finished campus. Foxconn is the reason to watch scope and jobs, not just headlines.

Sources

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