US to build $100B data center at former uranium site in Paducah, Kentucky

The US will build a $100 billion data center campus at the site of a former uranium enrichment plant in Paducah, Kentucky. Brookfield will operate the facility, with a planned capacity of 1.8 GW and operations expected by 2031. Nearby, NextEra Energy will construct a 2 GW natural gas power plant and energy storage systems with up to 2.6 GW capacity. Total generation and storage capacity will reach 4.6 GW, with surplus power supplied to the regional grid. The project is fully privately funded, creating 8,000 construction jobs and around 600 permanent positions. The location was chosen due to existing infrastructure: high-capacity power lines, water supply, fiber optics, and large available land from the plant, which closed in 2013. The US is rapidly expanding infrastructure for artificial intelligence, using federal lands and existing facilities to accelerate AI development, create jobs, and provide cheap energy for data centers. The main power source will be natural gas, increasing emissions. Potential controversies include water usage, local electricity rates, environmental impacts on the former nuclear site, and regional energy market shifts.