Trump Is Turning Old Federal Nuclear Weapon Sites Into Land For Data Centers

The Trump administration has announced a monolithic scheme to redevelop a erstwhile atomic enrichment tract successful Kentucky truthful it tin big an AI information center, nan latest successful a drawstring of akin conversion plans.

“The U.S. authorities is leveraging its assets — for illustration our national lands — to adhd powerfulness generation, create jobs, and guarantee nan United States wins nan A.I. race,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said successful a Wednesday statement.

The task is located astatine nan Department of Energy’s Paducah Site successful Kentucky, which enriched atomic worldly for nan subject and later commercialized uses until it closed successful 2013.

The inaugural is backed by much than $100 cardinal successful private investment and will create astir 8,000 building jobs and 600 imperishable jobs, according to nan Trump administration, which is partnering connected nan task pinch Brookfield, NextEra Energy, Big Rivers Electric Power Corporation, Jackson Purchase Energy Cooperative and Paducah Power System.

The field will see a new, two-gigawatt earthy state powerfulness works that officials opportunity will nutrient much power than is needed by nan data center, allowing nan section organization to use from nan surplus.

The management is attempting akin projects crossed nan country, including redeveloping a erstwhile atomic enrichment installation successful Piketon, Ohio, to big a 10-gigawatt information halfway scheme and exploring different information halfway astatine a national atomic tract successful South Carolina.

Separately, nan Interior Department successful June approved plans to put a information halfway connected onshore successful Nevada erstwhile slated to go a inferior star array, successful what is believed to beryllium nan first information halfway task connected Bureau of Land Management territory.

Environmentalists and section leaders person taken rumor pinch nan plan.

“We’ve had nary conversations, there’s been nary chance for nan organization aliases for nan metropolis to supply immoderate input to nan national government,” Boulder City spokesperson Lisa LaPlante told ENERGY WIRE this month. “This feels truthful unprecedented for america to person a task placed successful our metropolis without nan chance to measurement in.”

The Trump management has pushed to accelerate nan building of information centers as portion of its larger pro-AI strategy, arguing specified accommodation will thief create jobs and powerfulness a cardinal exertion arsenic nan U.S. competes pinch rivals for illustration China.

As portion of nan effort, nan president, whose run and statesmanlike projects person enjoyed ample donations from nan tech industry, has urged Congress to preempt authorities AI regulations and has allowed “islanded” powerfulness plants only connected to information centers to beryllium exempt from nan Environmental Protection Agency’s Acid Rain Program.

Polls show section guidance to AI information centers is growing, pinch critics citing concerns complete noise, biology impacts and taxation incentives fixed to information halfway owners.

The White House has helped shape a voluntary promise from manufacture participants not to walk connected elevated energy costs to customers.

Jesse Lee, elder advisor astatine ‌advocacy group ⁠Climate Power, precocious told Reuters nan promise amounts to an unreliable “pinky promise” from nan industry.

"Instead of allowing affordable, scalable cleanable power onto nan grid, Trump has actively pressured tech companies to powerfulness their information centers pinch fossil fuels that will summation inferior costs and expose Americans to toxic pollutants," Lee said.

High request for AI, whose information centers require immense amounts of electricity, is complicating plans to extremity nan ambiance situation by switching to renewable power sources.

At present, there is not capable renewable power to meet nan voracious coming and expected power request from information centers, and awesome players for illustration nan Trump management person exacerbated nan mismatch by pulling backmost connected finance successful renewables.