"The U.S. Department of Energy is harnessing the artificial intelligence boom in its bid to convert another Cold War-era uranium enrichment site, tapping private equity to fund a $100 billion data center complex that will include its own new natural gas and battery storage power plant in Kentucky.

The department selected investment firm Brookfield Asset Management to develop and operate the data center at the government-owned Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant. In March, the department announced a similar project at its Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Ohio.

Both are undergoing extensive cleanup, decontamination and decommissioning after decades of fueling the nation’s nuclear weapons and power plants. The project is in line with the Trump administration’s efforts to make artificial intelligence superiority over China a top national security and economic priority."

Marc Levy reports for the Associated Press July 30, 2026. [2]