Brookfield, NextEra Partner on US$100 Billion Kentucky AI Campus

A Cold War-era nuclear enrichment facility in western Kentucky is set to become the physical anchor for the American artificial intelligence industry.

Brookfield (TSX:BAM,NYSE:BAM) and NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) have partnered to construct a US$100 billion data center and power complex on a decommissioned US Department of Energy (DOE) site, marking one of the largest private infrastructure investments in the country's history.

The site, which ceased nuclear enrichment operations in 2013, retains industrial-scale water infrastructure, heavy transmission lines, and dense fiber connectivity to drastically compress standard development timelines.

To support the massive compute requirements without crashing the regional grid, the developers are building an entirely self-contained energy ecosystem. NextEra plans to construct 2 gigawatts of grid-connected natural gas power plants and deploy 2.6 gigawatts of battery storage. This infrastructure will exclusively feed a new 1.8-gigawatt artificial intelligence and high-performance computing campus operated by Brookfield.

Both commercial partners are committed to President Donald Trump’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge, which dictates that technology companies must fully absorb the infrastructure costs associated with their digital build-outs.

“By advancing this project in line with the White House Ratepayer Protection Pledge, we are ensuring innovation and affordability go hand in hand while creating high-quality jobs, attracting new investment and strengthening the local economy,” said Brookfield CEO Bruce Flatt, who noted the Paducah site serves as the starting point for his firm's plan to deploy US$100 billion into AI infrastructure.

NextEra CEO John Ketchum characterized the Kentucky development as “a proof point for how AI infrastructure should be built in America,” adding that the campus will deliver new jobs and new energy resources with not a dollar of added cost to consumers.

Last May, the Florida-based developer also executed a US$67 billion all-stock acquisition of Virginia utility Dominion Energy, creating a US$400 billion power entity controlling 110 gigawatts of generation capacity and handing NextEra direct control over the Northern Virginia “data center alley.”

Beyond leasing land for physical infrastructure, the DOE is directly integrating its scientific capabilities with the tech sector. The Paducah announcement follows a memorandum of understanding signed between OpenAI and the DOE last year to accelerate scientific research using artificial intelligence.

Through the Genesis Mission, OpenAI is deploying frontier AI reasoning models on federal supercomputers, including the Venado system at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

The alliance provides Silicon Valley with access to the government's premier high-performance computing environments while equipping federal scientists with tools to accelerate energy research alongside national security initiatives.

For federal regulators, the physical and digital partnerships share a single mandate.

“Thanks to President Trump, the US government is leveraging its assets—like our federal lands—to add power generation, create jobs, and ensure the United States wins the AI race,” said US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright.

Initial segments of the campus will become operational in 2028, with full construction scheduled to conclude by 2032.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.