NextEra Energy and Brookfield plan $100 billion AI data center campus at former Kentucky nuclear site, integrating massive compute infrastructure with nuclear power generation.
NextEra Energy and Brookfield Asset Management plan to develop a $100 billion AI data center complex at the Department of Energy's Paducah Site, a former uranium-enrichment facility in western Kentucky. The campus would support up to 1.8 gigawatts of utility capacity and 1.2 gigawatts of computing capacity when fully operational, combining new electrical generation with large-scale computing infrastructure to address growing concern that AI data centers could strain regional grids and raise power costs for households and businesses.
NextEra will construct and own up to 2 gigawatts of natural-gas-fired generation and up to 2.6 gigawatts of battery energy storage at or near the site. Brookfield has been selected to lease the federal land and develop and operate the data center campus itself. Initial operations are targeted for 2028, with full construction expected by 2031 to 2032, depending on the source.
The 4.6 gigawatts of proposed energy resources exceeds the campus's planned utility demand, potentially allowing surplus electricity to flow onto the regional grid. Power will be delivered through agreements with Big Rivers Electric Power Corp. and Jackson Purchase Energy Cooperative, arrangements that require approval from the Kentucky Public Service Commission. The project is structured as a test of the Trump administration's Ratepayer Protection Pledge, requiring technology companies to fund their own power infrastructure rather than shifting costs to existing electricity customers. NextEra CEO John Ketchum stated: "The data center will bring its own power, pay for its own power infrastructure and create good-paying jobs for local workers."
The Paducah facility spans 3,556 acres and began operating in the 1950s producing enriched uranium for US nuclear weapons programs and later commercial reactor fuel. Enrichment operations ceased in 2013, though portions of the government-owned property remain subject to environmental cleanup. Its existing transmission connections, water access, roads, fiber infrastructure, and industrial land are expected to accelerate development compared with building on greenfield sites.
The project remains preliminary, subject to negotiation of definitive agreements, and neither company has disclosed contractually committed investment amounts or identified data center tenants. The development is projected to create approximately 8,000 construction jobs and 600 permanent operations positions. Brookfield CEO Bruce Flatt characterized Paducah as the starting point for the firm's planned $100 billion investment in AI infrastructure globally.