"The government’s surprise announcement lacked key details, leading some to doubt if the project can secure equipment, permits, and room on the grid any time soon."

"The Trump administration says one of the world’s biggest natural gas–fired power plants will come to Ohio. But financial risks, permitting hurdles, and uncertainties about the project’s access to equipment have critics doubting when — and if — the plant will come online.

The U.S. Department of Commerce unveiled the plan last month in a press release listing projects supported by the administration’s trade deal with Japan last year, in which the Asian country agreed to invest $550 billion in America. A fact sheet from the agency paints a broad-strokes picture of the project: The $33 billion, 9.2-gigawatt plant, it says, will be built somewhere around the southern Ohio city of Portsmouth by SB Energy, a subsidiary of Japanese tech giant SoftBank.

Several key details are missing from the administration’s announcement. Exactly where will the plant be built? Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, and SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son will be in Piketon, Ohio, about 25 miles north of Portsmouth, on Friday afternoon, so more particulars may be coming then."

Kathiann M. Kowalski reports for Canary Media March 18, 2026. [2]