For the second time in two weeks, the Department of Energy unveiled plans for a new data center at one of its nuclear installations, this one at the Paducah Site in Western Kentucky.
In a Wednesday morning news release, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said DOE is teaming up with several energy organizations to help develop parts of the Paducah, Ky., site into a data center for artificial intelligence (AI) along with energy infrastructure. The data center will be fueled by natural gas and battery storage.
The project should be built by 2031, DOE said. The news comes a week after DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced a data center project at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. Earlier this year, a similar project was announced at the DOE Portsmouth Site in Ohio.
The Paducah Site announcement does not mention nuclear energy eventually playing a role in the data center.
“We are intently focused on finding ways to put federal land back to use for American taxpayers,” said DOE Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management Tim Walsh. “That commitment is at the heart of our office’s American Energy Hubs initiative. “
After a November 2025 request for offers, DOE picked Brookfield to develop and run the Paducah data center and NextEra Energy was chosen to build and own the site’s necessary energy infrastructure. “Big Rivers Electric Power Corporation will provide wholesale electric service, Jackson Purchase Energy Cooperative will provide retail electric service, and Paducah Power System will serve as a community partner,” DOE said in the release.
NextEra would “develop 2 gigawatts (GW) of new grid-connected natural gas-fired generation, upgrade existing transmission infrastructure, and deploy up to 2.6 GW of battery energy storage to support a new 1.8 GW artificial intelligence and high-performance computing (HPC) innovation campus,” according to the DOE release.
“Demand for critical infrastructure that accelerates innovation in the U.S. and supports the economy will need to be met with capital, development capabilities, and additional power generation that benefits local communities,” said Brookfield CEO Bruce Flatt in the press release.
Under the Ratepayer Protection Act, the project’s electric generation and storage capacity should exceed the center’s energy use, and the excess power would be available to the regional grid, DOE said in the release.
The $100-billion private investment project, which requires the blessing of the Kentucky Public Service Commission, could result in 8,000 construction jobs and 600 permanent positions, according to the DOE release.