NextEra and Brookfield announce Kentucky data center campus

NextEra Energy and Brookfield have announced a strategic partnership to develop a data center campus and dedicated energy project at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Paducah Site in Western Kentucky.

• The $100 billion privately funded project will repurpose the former enrichment site into a data center campus with up to 1.8 GW of utility capacity and over 1.2 GW of compute capacity by 2032.
• The project includes up to 4.6 GW of dedicated generation resources; DOE selected Brookfield to lease and develop the campus and NextEra Energy to build and own generation resources, including up to 2 GW of natural gas and up to 2.6 GW of battery energy storage systems.
• Big Rivers Electric Power Corporation will provide wholesale service, Jackson Purchase Energy Cooperative will deliver retail service, and Paducah Power System will serve as a community supporter; the power service agreement will require additional oversight from the Kentucky Public Service Commission.
• The release says the project is expected to create approximately 8,000 construction jobs and 600 full-time operations jobs, and it notes the site already has transmission capacity, water infrastructure, fiber connectivity, roads and land ready for development.