Brookfield and NextEra Plan $100B AI Data Center Campus on Former Kentucky Uranium Site

On July 29, 2026, Brookfield Asset Management and NextEra Energy announced a partnership to develop a $100 billion AI data center campus on a former Department of Energy uranium enrichment site in Paducah, Kentucky. The facility is expected to open in 2032.

The campus will deliver more than 1.2 gigawatts of AI computing capacity. NextEra will build 2 gigawatts of natural gas power generation plus battery energy storage on site, part of a total 4.6 GW of dedicated generation tied to the project. The investment ranks among the largest single commitments to AI infrastructure in the United States.

A Cold War Relic Reborn as a Compute Hub

The Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant operated for decades before being shuttered. Its existing high-voltage transmission infrastructure and proximity to natural gas resources made it attractive for redevelopment as a brownfield site. Key details of the project include:

• $100 billion total investment across the campus and power plant
• More than 1.2 GW of AI compute capacity
• 4.6 GW of dedicated on-site power generation, including 2 GW natural gas
• 8,000 construction jobs and 600 permanent operations roles, per the Department of Energy
• Target operational date: 2032

Brookfield will develop the data center buildings and lease them to AI customers. NextEra will own and operate the energy infrastructure, a model that pairs the largest U.S. electric utility with one of the world's largest infrastructure investors.

Federal Land Policy Drives AI Buildout

The project is part of a broader Trump administration initiative to repurpose federal land for AI data centers. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the development would lower electricity prices and create jobs. In a video posted by the department, Wright stated: 'There will be a lot of new natural gas power plants, a large data center, thousands of jobs, and tens of billions of dollars of investment in rural Western Kentucky.'

Construction is expected to begin in 2027. The Paducah campus may serve as a model for converting other federal industrial sites into computing campuses, as AI demand pushes developers to seek large parcels with existing power infrastructure. Brookfield has not announced anchor tenants, but the 1.2 GW capacity could support clusters of hyperscale AI training clusters.