Paducah Site AI campus
Paducah, McCracken County, KY
Also known as Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant data center, DOE Paducah American Energy Hub
- Rumored
- Proposed
- Approved
- Under construction
- Operating
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Brookfield and NextEra Energy plan a 1.8 GW AI and high-performance computing campus on part of the Department of Energy's former Paducah uranium enrichment site in western Kentucky. NextEra would build about 2 GW of new gas-fired generation and up to 2.6 GW of battery storage. The Energy Department announced the partnership on July 29, 2026, and the power service agreement still needs approval from the Kentucky Public Service Commission.
- Permanent jobs (promised)
- 600
- about
Key facts
Size & schedule
| Planned capacity | 1.8 GW [1] campus size per DOE; utility-delivered capacity targeted for 2032 per Data Center Knowledge |
|---|---|
| IT load | 1.2 GW [2] "more than 1.2 GW" of AI compute capacity (Data Center Knowledge) |
| Stated investment | $100 billion [2] "roughly $100 billion over time", privately funded |
| Permanent jobs (promised) | 600 [1] about |
| Construction jobs | 8,000 [1] about |
| Target completion | DOE and WBKO: construction expected complete in 2031; Data Center Knowledge: 1.8 GW by 2032 [3] |
Power
| Power supply | About 2 GW of new gas-fired generation and up to 2.6 GW of battery storage by NextEra; surplus to the regional grid. Big Rivers Electric Power Corporation (wholesale) and Jackson Purchase Energy Cooperative (retail) would serve the campus, with Paducah Power System as a community partner [1] an analyst quoted by Data Center Knowledge cautions against adding generation and storage figures together |
|---|
Figures are as stated by the cited source. Where sources disagree, each figure is shown.
Water and power
Water
Not disclosed. No source reviewed gives a water figure for this site. The Census does not estimate one.
Power
| Planned capacity | 1.8 GW [1] |
|---|---|
| IT load | 1.2 GW [2] |
| Power supply | About 2 GW of new gas-fired generation and up to 2.6 GW of battery storage by NextEra; surplus to the regional grid. Big Rivers Electric Power Corporation (wholesale) and Jackson Purchase Energy Cooperative (retail) would serve the campus, with Paducah Power System as a community partner [1] |
Disclosed figures only, each as the cited source states it. Many are projections or permit limits, not metered use. How data center water and power use is measured, and every disclosed figure →
Timeline
Issues raised
- The power service agreement requires Kentucky Public Service Commission approval [1]
Issues are concerns and claims raised by the parties, officials or residents named in the cited sources. They are reported as attributed, not as findings by the Census.
Sources
- Energy Department Announces Partnership to Expand Reliable, Affordable Energy Access and Power America's AI Future in Western KentuckyU.S. Department of Energy · Jul 29, 2026 · government
- Brookfield, NextEra Launch $100B AI Campus at DOE's Paducah SiteData Center Knowledge · Jul 29, 2026 · news
- AI data center coming to Western KentuckyWBKO · Jul 29, 2026 · news
- DOE announces Paducah data center campus with $100B private investmentSpectrum News 1 Kentucky · Jul 29, 2026 · news
Cite this page
Last updated Oct 15, 2026. Figures may change as records are updated — include the date you retrieved them.
| APA | Data Center Census. (2026). Paducah Site AI campus. Retrieved from https://datacentercensus.com/dc/paducah-site-data-center-campus-ky |
|---|---|
| MLA | “Paducah Site AI campus.” Data Center Census, Oct 15, 2026, https://datacentercensus.com/dc/paducah-site-data-center-campus-ky. |
| Link | https://datacentercensus.com/dc/paducah-site-data-center-campus-ky |
Republishing a figure or table? Attribute it to Data Center Census with a link to this page. The underlying data is downloadable as JSON and CSV; the press kit has standing figures and contact details.