SoftBank to build massive AI datacenter on former US nuclear weapons site
(2026/03/23)
- Reference: 1774286963
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2026/03/23/softbank_to_put_mega_server/
- Source link:
Softbank's SB Energy is redeveloping Department of Energy (DoE) land in Ohio for a massive datacenter campus, adding extra generation facilities and power infrastructure alongside it.
The Japanese investment giant's digital infrastructure and energy arm is leasing federal land at the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Piketon, Ohio, to build a 10-gigawatt (GW) server farm.
SB Energy will also build 10 GW of new generation capacity, at least 9.2 GW of it gas-fired, feeding both the local grid and the datacenter. Separately, SB Energy and American Electric Power (AEP) Ohio have struck a $4.2 billion deal to upgrade and expand electrical transmission infrastructure across Southern Ohio, a move both parties claim will lower utility bills for local homes and businesses. AEP expects power to reach the site by 2029.
[1]
The project is framed as consistent with President Trump's [2]Ratepayer Protection Pledge , which aims to shield consumers from price increases driven by surging AI infrastructure demand.
[3]
[4]
According to the DoE, SB Energy has also committed to funding accelerated cleanup of the Portsmouth site, which was formerly used to produce enriched uranium for both civilian nuclear power and the US weapons program.
SoftBank has announced a "Portsmouth Consortium" of companies and financial institutions interested in participating, including Japanese firms Hitachi, Mitsubishi Electric, Toshiba, TDK and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking, alongside US names Bechtel, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan.
[5]Amazon-backed X-Energy gets green light for mini reactor fuel production
[6]50 GW of datacenter demand queues up for UK grid access
[7]US is moving ahead with colocated nukes and datacenters
[8]Next-gen nuclear reactors safe enough to skip full environmental reviews, says Trump admin
[9]Uncle Sam dangles nuclear campuses for states while watering down safety rules
The same site has separately been chosen by nuclear developer Oklo, in a joint venture with Centrus Energy, for a uranium processing facility, and by Meta as the location for a [10]nuclear power campus targeting up to 1.2 GW of baseload power.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the US Administration is using its assets, including federal land, to add power generation, create jobs, and ensure the country wins the AI race.
[11]
"By bringing new power online and upgrading our existing infrastructure, this investment supports the AI boom and cutting-edge technologies while strengthening our energy system and helping keep costs down for the American people," he said.
SoftBank Group chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son, said: "AI will transform every industry, and the PORTS Technology Campus will help deliver the next-generation infrastructure needed to unlock those breakthroughs." ®
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[2] https://www.theregister.com/2026/03/05/munificent_7_pledge_on_energy/
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[5] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/14/x_energy_smr_fuel/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/27/datacenter_uk_grid_demand/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/13/us_moving_ahead_with_colocated/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/03/nextgen_nuclear_reactors_skip_nepa_reviews/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/29/us_nuclear_campuses/
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[12] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
The Japanese investment giant's digital infrastructure and energy arm is leasing federal land at the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Piketon, Ohio, to build a 10-gigawatt (GW) server farm.
SB Energy will also build 10 GW of new generation capacity, at least 9.2 GW of it gas-fired, feeding both the local grid and the datacenter. Separately, SB Energy and American Electric Power (AEP) Ohio have struck a $4.2 billion deal to upgrade and expand electrical transmission infrastructure across Southern Ohio, a move both parties claim will lower utility bills for local homes and businesses. AEP expects power to reach the site by 2029.
[1]
The project is framed as consistent with President Trump's [2]Ratepayer Protection Pledge , which aims to shield consumers from price increases driven by surging AI infrastructure demand.
[3]
[4]
According to the DoE, SB Energy has also committed to funding accelerated cleanup of the Portsmouth site, which was formerly used to produce enriched uranium for both civilian nuclear power and the US weapons program.
SoftBank has announced a "Portsmouth Consortium" of companies and financial institutions interested in participating, including Japanese firms Hitachi, Mitsubishi Electric, Toshiba, TDK and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking, alongside US names Bechtel, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan.
[5]Amazon-backed X-Energy gets green light for mini reactor fuel production
[6]50 GW of datacenter demand queues up for UK grid access
[7]US is moving ahead with colocated nukes and datacenters
[8]Next-gen nuclear reactors safe enough to skip full environmental reviews, says Trump admin
[9]Uncle Sam dangles nuclear campuses for states while watering down safety rules
The same site has separately been chosen by nuclear developer Oklo, in a joint venture with Centrus Energy, for a uranium processing facility, and by Meta as the location for a [10]nuclear power campus targeting up to 1.2 GW of baseload power.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the US Administration is using its assets, including federal land, to add power generation, create jobs, and ensure the country wins the AI race.
[11]
"By bringing new power online and upgrading our existing infrastructure, this investment supports the AI boom and cutting-edge technologies while strengthening our energy system and helping keep costs down for the American people," he said.
SoftBank Group chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son, said: "AI will transform every industry, and the PORTS Technology Campus will help deliver the next-generation infrastructure needed to unlock those breakthroughs." ®
Get our [12]Tech Resources
[1] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2acHGEbFIoWExEnS4KYNW8wAAAQg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2026/03/05/munificent_7_pledge_on_energy/
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44acHGEbFIoWExEnS4KYNW8wAAAQg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
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[5] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/14/x_energy_smr_fuel/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/27/datacenter_uk_grid_demand/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/13/us_moving_ahead_with_colocated/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/03/nextgen_nuclear_reactors_skip_nepa_reviews/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/29/us_nuclear_campuses/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/09/meta_nuke_deals/
[11] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44acHGEbFIoWExEnS4KYNW8wAAAQg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[12] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
iron
> 10-gigawatt (GW) server farm.
> SB Energy will also build 10 GW of new generation capacity... feeding both the local grid and the datacenter.
Except the entire 10 GW will be needed by the 10 GW datacenter so the local grid gets 0 GW, at best, when all the turbines are turning.
Rich 2
Mmmm… you saw through that plan eh?
would be pretty shocked
Nate Amsden
if this even gets to 10% of it's intended capacity before they surrender due to high costs/lack of investor money to throw at it.
Re: would be pretty shocked
Clausewitz4.1
” if this even gets to 10% of it's intended capacity”
I assume there is too much circular money invested, so it can reach much more than 10% of capacity
Returns on investment
Clausewitz4.1
Well done.
Now you ONLY need to have a good ROI for the project to be successful.
10GW
Why is everyone measuring the size of server farms in GW? It’s totally meaningless.
Measuring it in hectares (or even football pitches) would be more useful