{"slug": "brookfield-and-nextera-plan-100b-1-8gw-ai-campus-at-doe-s-paducah-uranium-site", "title": "Brookfield and NextEra Plan $100B, 1.8GW AI Campus at DOE's Paducah Uranium Site", "summary": "Brookfield and NextEra Energy will develop a $100 billion AI data center campus at the U.S. Department of Energy's former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Kentucky, targeting 1.8 GW of compute capacity by 2032. NextEra will build up to 2 GW of natural gas-fired generation and 2.6 GW of battery storage on-site, with operations expected to begin in 2028 pending Kentucky Public Service Commission approval. The project is projected to create 8,000 construction jobs and 600 permanent positions.", "body_md": "# Brookfield and NextEra Plan $100B, 1.8GW AI Campus at DOE's Paducah Uranium Site\n\n- Brookfield and NextEra Energy plan a $100 billion AI campus at the DOE's former Paducah uranium enrichment site, targeting 1.8 GW of compute capacity by 2032\n[[1]](https://www.energy.gov/articles/energy-department-announces-partnership-expand-reliable-affordable-energy-access-and-power) - NextEra will build up to 2 GW of natural gas-fired generation and 2.6 GW of battery storage on-site, with excess power delivered to the regional grid\n[[2]](https://www.datacenterknowledge.com/data-center-construction/brookfield-nextera-launch-100b-ai-campus-at-doe-s-paducah-site) - Operations are expected to begin in 2028, with full buildout completed by 2032; the project requires Kentucky Public Service Commission approval\n[[3]](https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/business/artificial-intelligence/2026/07/29/nextera-brookfield-plan-us100-billion-data-centre-at-us-uranium-site-in-kentucky/) - The campus is projected to create approximately 8,000 construction jobs and 600 permanent positions\n[[2]](https://www.datacenterknowledge.com/data-center-construction/brookfield-nextera-launch-100b-ai-campus-at-doe-s-paducah-site) - DOE selected Brookfield following a November 2025 Request for Offers process for the site, which closed as a uranium enrichment facility in 2013\n[[1]](https://www.energy.gov/articles/energy-department-announces-partnership-expand-reliable-affordable-energy-access-and-power)\n\nBrookfield and NextEra Energy will develop a $100 billion AI data center campus at the U.S. Department of Energy's former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in western Kentucky, the DOE announced on July 29. The project targets more than 1.2 GW of initial AI computing capacity, scaling to 1.8 GW by 2032 [[1]](https://www.energy.gov/articles/energy-department-announces-partnership-expand-reliable-affordable-energy-access-and-power) [2].\n\nNextEra, the largest U.S. utility by market capitalization, will build up to 2 GW of dedicated natural gas-fired generation and 2.6 GW of battery energy storage capacity at the site, a \"bring-your-own-power\" model that keeps the campus largely independent of the regional grid. Excess generation will be delivered to local utilities [2].\n\nThe DOE selected Brookfield following a Request for Offers process launched in November 2025. The project remains subject to negotiation of definitive agreements and approval by the Kentucky Public Service Commission. Operations are expected to begin in 2028, with full buildout completed by 2032 [[1]](https://www.energy.gov/articles/energy-department-announces-partnership-expand-reliable-affordable-energy-access-and-power) [3].\n\n## The Site\n\nThe Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant was constructed in the 1950s to produce enriched uranium and ceased enrichment operations in 2013. The 3,556-acre federal site in McCracken County, Kentucky, retains significant legacy infrastructure — including high-voltage transmission capacity, water access, fiber connectivity, and available land — that DOE officials say can accelerate development timelines [[1]](https://www.energy.gov/articles/energy-department-announces-partnership-expand-reliable-affordable-energy-access-and-power) [2].\n\nThe campus is part of DOE's broader American Energy Hubs initiative, which seeks to repurpose underutilized federal sites for energy and compute infrastructure. A similar effort produced a nearly 10 GW data center announcement in Ohio earlier in 2026 [3].\n\nOver 40,000 cylinders of depleted uranium hexafluoride remain on-site and will continue to be managed alongside the new development. DOE Assistant Secretary Tim Walsh said the project ensures \"federal land will be put to productive use for Americans through affordable energy and AI innovation\" [1].\n\n## Power & Storage Architecture\n\nThe project's power stack is among the largest dedicated generation buildouts announced for a single data center campus in the U.S. NextEra will develop up to 2 GW of new natural gas-fired generation paired with up to 2.6 GW of battery energy storage, for a combined 4.6 GW of dedicated capacity [[2]](https://www.datacenterknowledge.com/data-center-construction/brookfield-nextera-launch-100b-ai-campus-at-doe-s-paducah-site) [4].\n\nThe generation and storage resources will exceed the campus's own demand. Surplus power will be delivered to the regional grid through local utility partners — Big Rivers Electric Power Corporation, Jackson Purchase Energy Cooperative, and Paducah Power System — a structure DOE says will lower electricity costs for surrounding ratepayers [[1]](https://www.energy.gov/articles/energy-department-announces-partnership-expand-reliable-affordable-energy-access-and-power) [2].\n\nThe power service agreement requires approval from the Kentucky Public Service Commission, a process that will run in parallel with negotiations over definitive project agreements [1].\n\n## Partners and Roles\n\nBrookfield will own and operate the data center campus. The Canadian asset manager has been rapidly expanding its data center footprint globally, including through its Brookfield Infrastructure Partners vehicle and its 2024 acquisition of Data4 in Europe [[3]](https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/business/artificial-intelligence/2026/07/29/nextera-brookfield-plan-us100-billion-data-centre-at-us-uranium-site-in-kentucky/) [4].\n\nNextEra Energy, which operates Florida Power & Light and is the world's largest generator of wind and solar energy, is providing the dedicated generation and storage infrastructure. The company has been increasingly positioning itself as a power supplier to hyperscale data center operators [4].\n\nLocal utility partners Big Rivers Electric Power Corporation and Jackson Purchase Energy Cooperative will handle wholesale and retail electric service, respectively, while Paducah Power System provides community-level coordination. The coalition is branded as the Paducah American Energy Hub [[1]](https://www.energy.gov/articles/energy-department-announces-partnership-expand-reliable-affordable-energy-access-and-power) [2].\n\n## Economic Impact and Timeline\n\nThe project is expected to generate approximately 8,000 construction jobs during the buildout phase and roughly 600 permanent positions once operational, according to the DOE announcement. At $100 billion, it would represent one of the largest single private investments in Kentucky's history [[1]](https://www.energy.gov/articles/energy-department-announces-partnership-expand-reliable-affordable-energy-access-and-power) [2].\n\nConstruction completion is targeted for 2031, with the full 1.8 GW campus operational by 2032. Initial operations are expected to begin in 2028, though the project's status remains conditional on finalizing definitive agreements and securing regulatory approvals [[1]](https://www.energy.gov/articles/energy-department-announces-partnership-expand-reliable-affordable-energy-access-and-power) [3].\n\nThe announcement adds to a growing pipeline of mega-scale AI infrastructure projects on federal land. The Paducah campus's co-located generation model — where power plants are built specifically for the data center and sited on the same property — represents a departure from the grid-connected approach used at most existing hyperscale campuses [[2]](https://www.datacenterknowledge.com/data-center-construction/brookfield-nextera-launch-100b-ai-campus-at-doe-s-paducah-site) [4].\n\n## Companies mentioned\n\n## Further sources\n\n[[1] U.S. Department of Energy press release: Energy Department Announces Partnershi… ↗](https://www.energy.gov/articles/energy-department-announces-partnership-expand-reliable-affordable-energy-access-and-power)\n\n[[2] Data Center Knowledge: Brookfield, NextEra Launch $100B AI Campus at DOE's Padu… ↗](https://www.datacenterknowledge.com/data-center-construction/brookfield-nextera-launch-100b-ai-campus-at-doe-s-paducah-site)\n\n[[3] Bloomberg/BNN: NextEra, Brookfield Plan US$100 Billion Data Centre at U.S. Uran… ↗](https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/business/artificial-intelligence/2026/07/29/nextera-brookfield-plan-us100-billion-data-centre-at-us-uranium-site-in-kentucky/)\n\n[[4] Power Magazine: Brookfield, NextEra to Develop $100B Data Center Campus at DOE'… ↗](https://www.powermag.com/brookfield-nextera-to-develop-100b-data-center-campus-at-does-paducah-site-paired-with-4-6-gw-of-dedicated-generation/)\n\nThe stories that matter, in one email. Free — unsubscribe anytime.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/brookfield-and-nextera-plan-100b-1-8gw-ai-campus-at-doe-s-paducah-uranium-site", "canonical_source": "https://mlq.ai/news/brookfield-and-nextera-plan-100b-18gw-ai-campus-at-does-paducah-uranium-site/", "published_at": "2026-07-30 14:23:19.140124+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-07-30 14:23:21.093454+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "ai-infrastructure", "ai-policy"], "entities": ["Brookfield", "NextEra Energy", "U.S. Department of Energy", "Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant", "Kentucky Public Service Commission", "Tim Walsh"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/brookfield-and-nextera-plan-100b-1-8gw-ai-campus-at-doe-s-paducah-uranium-site", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/brookfield-and-nextera-plan-100b-1-8gw-ai-campus-at-doe-s-paducah-uranium-site.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/brookfield-and-nextera-plan-100b-1-8gw-ai-campus-at-doe-s-paducah-uranium-site.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/brookfield-and-nextera-plan-100b-1-8gw-ai-campus-at-doe-s-paducah-uranium-site.jsonld"}}