Plan Exceeding $100 Billion Would Turn Kentucky Enrichment Site Into AI Campus
Key Facts
Brookfield and NextEra plan to redevelop parts of the former Paducah uranium enrichment site in Kentucky under a partnership announced by the U.S. Department of Energy on July 29, 2026, to create an energy and artificial intelligence campus. The department estimated planned private investment at more than $100 billion to fund data centers and associated infrastructure. In a breakdown of spending, a Brookfield spokesperson told the Associated Press that 30% of a $100 billion total would go toward construction of the data center and energy components. The spokesperson added that the remaining spending would go toward data center equipment. The development plan thus combines facility construction with the installation of computing equipment, alongside dedicated energy resources to serve them.
According to the companies' statement, the campus is expected to exceed 1.2 gigawatts of computing capacity upon completion. The project website lists a planned electrical load of 1.8 gigawatts for the campus, under supply arrangements combining generation and storage. NextEra's plan includes up to 2 gigawatts of natural gas-fired generation, according to the company's statement. It also includes battery storage systems with capacity of up to 2.6 gigawatts as part of the project's dedicated energy facilities. The project website lists total dedicated energy resources at 4.6 gigawatts under the plan linking the data center campus to its electricity supplies.
The project's structure stipulates that "the data center bears the cost of new infrastructure and electricity needs," according to NextEra's project website. The arrangement aims to protect existing customers from additional costs associated with meeting the new campus's needs. The company says the design adds dispatchable power capacity exceeding the data center's consumption, supporting the regional grid. Under the arrangements outlined in the project's questions and answers page, Big Rivers Electric is slated to provide wholesale electricity service to the site. Jackson Purchase Energy Cooperative will provide retail electricity service under the planned division of responsibilities for serving the campus.
For cooling, the developer expects to use a modern closed-loop system inside the data center, according to the project website. The system recirculates water, with small additions to replace losses during operation. The developer estimates that the data center and gas facility together will use less than 5 million gallons of water daily when operating. By comparison, the Department of Energy says water use at the site reached 30 million gallons daily at the peak of uranium enrichment operations. The projected water estimate relates to operation of the data center and gas facilities, while the historical level reflects the site's former industrial activity.
Uranium enrichment operations at Paducah ceased in 2013, according to background information published by the U.S. Department of Energy. The department continues to oversee contamination remediation and waste management alongside depleted uranium conversion work. Its responsibilities also include decontamination and dismantling of site facilities, while the partnership aims to redevelop parts of the site for energy and computing uses. On the new development's expected employment impact, the department anticipates about 8,000 jobs during construction. It also expects 600 permanent operating jobs as part of its plan to repurpose the former industrial site.
Implementation of the project remains subject to the negotiation and execution of definitive agreements, according to the companies' statement outlining the proposed development framework. The electricity service agreement also remains subject to approval by the Kentucky Public Service Commission, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. The Brookfield spokesperson told the Associated Press that discussions with commercial partners about using data center space were ongoing when the project was announced in July. On timing, the department's statement identified 2031 as the expected construction completion date. The project website, meanwhile, targets completion in 2032, the date also cited in the companies' statement.