ARLINGTON, VA. — Two Department of Energy cleanup properties are expected to issue solicitations for artificial intelligence (AI)-related data centers soon, federal officials said here Wednesday.
The Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee could issue a request for proposals in early November for a potential data center, Rob Seifert, director of infrastructure disposition and regulatory policy for DOE, said during a panel discussion at the National Cleanup Workshop.
Likewise, the Paducah Site in Kentucky expects to issue a solicitation “this fall,” Seifert said at the annual DOE conference. The gathering is hosted by Energy Communities Alliance and Energy Facility Contractors Group.
The Paducah Site has up to 700 acres available while the Oak Ridge Site has more than 250 acres available, split between the DOE Office of Environmental Management, Office of Science and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Seifert said.
DOE’s is pushing to develop data centers, hopefully powered by small modular reactors or other advanced nuclear projects at its sites. Seifert and Neelesh Nerurkar, acting principal deputy director and director of infrastructure policy, discussed the DOE perspective during the panel.
DOE’s Idaho National Laboratory has already requested data center applications at its property and it has an industry day scheduled for Friday Sept. 26.
Savannah River Site in South Carolina is also expected to move forward with a solicitation in the near term, the DOE officials said.