A Cold War-era nuclear enrichment facility in western Kentucky is about to become the backbone of America’s artificial intelligence industry. Brookfield Asset Management and NextEra Energy have teamed up to build a staggering US$100 billion data center and power complex on a decommissioned Department of Energy site near Paducah, marking what could be one of the largest private infrastructure investments in United States history. The location, which stopped enriching uranium in 2013, still carries the industrial bones needed for massive development — water systems, heavy transmission lines, and dense fiber networks that could shave years off typical construction timelines.
To keep the project from overwhelming the regional power grid, developers are planning an entirely self-contained energy ecosystem. NextEra intends to build two gigawatts of natural gas generation and deploy 2.6 gigawatts of battery storage, all dedicated to feeding a 1.8-gigawatt artificial intelligence and high-performance computing campus operated by Brookfield. Both companies have signed onto President Donald Trump’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge, meaning the technology firms will foot the bill for their own infrastructure rather than passing costs along to everyday electricity customers.
Brookfield CEO Bruce Flatt framed the Paducah development as the opening move in his firm’s plan to pour US$100 billion into AI infrastructure nationwide, saying it would bring high-quality jobs and new investment to the region while keeping innovation affordable. NextEra chief John Ketchum called the project proof of how American AI infrastructure should be built — delivering both jobs and energy without adding a single dollar to consumer bills.
The announcement also fits into a broader pattern of federal energy assets being repurposed for private-sector technology ambitions. Last year OpenAI signed a memorandum with the Department of Energy to accelerate scientific research using artificial intelligence, deploying frontier models on government supercomputers like Los Alamos’s Venado system. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the administration is deliberately leveraging federal lands and resources to expand power generation and ensure America wins the global AI race. Initial phases of the Kentucky campus are slated to come online in 2028, with full buildout expected by 2032.
