Data center and gas plants announced for former Ohio uranium site.

The U.S. Department of Energy announced a public-private plan to develop a 10-gigawatt data center and up to 10 gigawatts of new power generation, mostly natural gas, at the decommissioned Portsmouth enrichment site in southern Ohio, with construction expected to begin this year.

The Department of Energy announced a public-private partnership to develop a major data center and on-site power on the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant site in Pike County, southern Ohio. The site is being called the PORTS Technology Campus. Officials said the project is intended to support commercial development of artificial intelligence and related research. Key details: - DOE said the plan includes a 10-gigawatt data center and up to 10 gigawatts of new power generation, including about 9.2 gigawatts of natural gas generation. - The article mentions SoftBank, through its affiliate SB Energy, is partnering with AEP Ohio on power generation and transmission work, and that the companies expect $4.2 billion in grid upgrades and new transmission lines. - DOE said the project is part of a U.S.-Japan trade and investment agreement and that the initiative includes $33.3 billion in Japanese funding tied to the natural gas component. - Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum attended the announcement, and officials said the site could support research in areas such as fusion energy, quantum computing and national security applications. - The article mentions a separate collaboration called Stargate involving SoftBank, OpenAI and Oracle, and notes broader private-sector interest in large-scale U.S. data center capacity. - The announcement comes as a group of rural Ohio residents filed a petition seeking to place a constitutional ban on mega data centers on the statewide ballot. Summary: The project would add large-scale data center capacity and substantial new power generation at the former Portsmouth enrichment site and is presented by officials as a way to support AI development and jobs. DOE said construction is expected to begin this year; the ballot petition seeking a statewide ban on mega data centers is pending and may affect local and state-level debate.