SoftBank Eyes 10GW Data Center at Former DOE Nuclear Enrichment Site in Ohio
SoftBank Eyes 10GW Data Center at Former DOE Nuclear Enrichment Site in Ohio
Japanese technology giant SoftBank is planning to develop a multi-gigawatt data center campus on federal land in Ohio.
The US Department of Energy (DOE), alongside the Department of Commerce (DOC), this week announced a public-private partnership with SoftBank and AEP Ohio to redevelop DOE land in Southern Ohio.
Under the agreement, SB Energy, a SoftBank Group company, is planning to build 10GW of new power generation - including 9.2GW of natural gas generation - that will connect to the local grid and provide power to a new 10GW data center development at the Portsmouth Site in Pike County, Ohio.*Full details of the project weren’t shared, but the DOE said construction is expected to begin this year.
The DOE's Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Ohio– Department of Energy
“I’m pleased to be working with our partners at SoftBank and AEP Ohio on this important project. By bringing new power online and upgrading our existing infrastructure, this investment supports the AI boom and cutting-edge technologies while strengthening our energy system and helping keep costs down for the American people.”
The $33.3 billion in Japanese funding for 9.2GW of new natural gas generation was previously announced as part of President Donald Trump’s U.S.-Japan Strategic Trade and Investment Agreement in February.
“Our partnership with the Department of Energy strengthens America’s AI leadership, secures the energy and compute needed for the future, and powers the next era of innovation for the United States,” said Masayoshi Son, CEO of SoftBank Group Corp. “AI will transform every industry, and the PORTS Technology Campus will help deliver the next-generation infrastructure needed to unlock those breakthroughs.”
Bloomberg reports the data center portion of the project could total investments of $30-40 billion. The publication said the gas generation capacity will be installed across the region, rather than a single complex.
The DOE noted the project complies with President Trump’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge, which aims to force data center firms to pay for their own grid infrastructure. As part of the project, SB Energy is investing $4.2 billion with AEP Ohio to upgrade and build new transmission lines in Southern Ohio.
“AEP Ohio is proud that this partnership will bring critical infrastructure to Appalachian Ohio,” added Bill Fehrman, AEP CEO. “If it were not for the partnership between all parties – the Administration, SoftBank, and our team – this type of investment would not be possible. This partnership unlocks billions of dollars of electric transmission infrastructure, all without increasing customer rates.”
SB Energy was founded as a subsidiary of SoftBank in 2011. The company predominantly develops solar and battery storage projects.
SoftBank is a major investor in OpenAI and its Stargate data center build-out program. In January, SB Energy partnered with OpenAI on the AI firm’s 1.2GW Stargate data center in Milam County, Texas. SB is set to provide the power infrastructure. SB has previously signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Google in Texas.
Japan has committed to invest $550 billion across America. With this historic trade deal we are reindustrializing the country through critical projects like this $33 billion dollar power project in Portsmouth, Ohio. There are additional mega projects located Alabama, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas.
News that a data center might be coming to Pike County surfaced in January. New Day Data Centers LLC was proposing to develop a data center campus at the Department of Energy (DOE) owned Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Scioto Township. Constructed in the 1950s and located south of Piketon, the plant previously produced enriched uranium, including highly enriched weapons-grade uranium, for the United States Atomic Energy Commission, the US nuclear weapons program, and Navy submarines. In later years, it produced low-enriched uranium for fuel for commercial nuclear power reactors.
The former gaseous diffusion plant covers 640 acres of the 3,775-acre site. Much of the site, including the diffusion plant, has been shut down and is undergoing decontamination, though other parts of the wider campus continue to operate.
*The DOE listed the plant as one of 16 sites on federal land for "rapid data center construction” last year.
The 16 sites are as follows:
“Idaho National Laboratory, Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Argonne National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, National Energy Technology Laboratory, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, Savannah River Site, Pantex Plant, Kansas City National Security Campus
The RFI varies in the level of detail given about each site. Some include specific locations within the federal land, information on grid availability, and water capacity, while others are a little broader.
Of note is Argonne National Laboratory, which the RFI notes "could accommodate a 110-acre developable site for a future 1,000MW AI data park on US Department of Energy (DOE) land with an early target for operations by 2028." The land is 23 miles from Chicago; the facility would benefit from Illinois’ data center tax exemption that has helped push Chicago to its position as the fourth largest data center market in the US by capacity.
Over in New York state, Brookhaven National Laboratory is near the existing Caithness Long Island Energy Center, "which could be the site of a new 750MW gas turbine plant for a data center."
The Colorado-based NREL Flatirons Campus "has enough land, power, water, and broadband capability to host a 100MW data center that could be initiated as soon as this year (2025)," the RFI notes. "The site could support an integrated data center energy system test bed, that could be deployed later at scale at other locations."
Another smaller deployment could be found in New Jersey at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. Its Forrestal Campus "currently has 100MW of energy capacity with district upgrade potential available, and current water contract with NJ Water Supply Authority includes ~55 million gallons/year."
Home to some of the world's largest supercomputers, the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico is currently working on its own data center deployments. LANL said in the RFI: "LANL is executing an upgrade of the Strategic Computing Complex (SCC) to 70MW, which requires the Electrical Power Capacity Upgrade (EPCU) and the SCC Electrical Upgrade (SEU) GPP; these projects are funded and near start of construction currently.
"LANL’s strategy is to leverage new off-premises power and water capabilities to supplement its enduring on-premises capabilities. In responding to this call, LANL recognizes that this new on-premises commercial data center would expand our mission further, and without new power sources or exercising EPCU options, would be limited to a total of 100MW for HPC+AI infrastructure.
"This on premises 100MW limit would need to be operationally managed with the newly upgraded SCC (70MW) mission. The SCC could host low-density data systems, reducing its peak power needs to below current levels, and still take advantage of 70MW total capability by re-configuring its electrical distribution back to its original configuration of 2N power. This would enable shifting power from the SCC to the new AI facility. A better approach would be to identify and deploy new on-premises power sources such as gas turbine (exercise options to expand the existing steam plant), or nuclear small modular reactors."
In March 2025, DCD exclusively reported that the US government was similarly assessing interest in developing a 500MW data center on an Air Force base in Tucson, Arizona.
Additional Information:
Energy Department Announces Partnership to Ensure Affordable Energy and Power America’s AI Future
The U.S. Department of Energy, alongside the U.S. Department of Commerce, today announced a unique public-private partnership with SoftBank and AEP Ohio to redevelop DOE land, modernize energy infrastructure, and develop advanced computing in Southern Ohio.
Energy Department Announces Partnership to Ensure Affordable Energy and Power America’s AI Future
The U.S. Department of Energy, alongside the U.S. Department of Commerce, today announced a unique public-private partnership with SoftBank and AEP Ohio to redevelop DOE land, modernize energy infrastructure, and develop advanced computing in Southern Ohio.
OpenAI and SoftBank Group partner with SB Energy
SoftBank Group and OpenAI invest $1 billion in SB Energy to support its growth as a leading development and execution partner for data center campuses
OpenAI signs 1.2 GW data center lease for initial data center buildout
SB Energy will become a major customer of OpenAI, leveraging its APIs and deploying ChatGPT for its employees
SB Energy additionally secured $800 million of Redeemable Preferred Equity from Ares to further support the company’s growth
Redwood City, CA, Jan. 9, 2026—SB Energy(opens in a new window), a SoftBank Group company, announced today a strategic partnership with OpenAI as part of Stargate(opens in a new window), marking a significant step forward in the build out of next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) and energy infrastructure in the United States. The investment builds on the $500 billion Stargate commitment announced in January at the White House.
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