Key facts
- OpenAI is reportedly in talks to lease a 10-gigawatt data center development on U.S. Department of Energy land in Ohio.
- The project, a collaboration involving SB Energy and Nvidia, has an estimated cost of $500 billion.
- The campus will be built on a former nuclear site in Pike County, Ohio.
- The first phase, with 800 megawatts of capacity, is slated for operation in 2028.
- Nvidia is reportedly providing financial backing and guarantees for the transaction.
OpenAI is reportedly in discussions to lease a massive artificial intelligence campus, estimated to cost $500 billion, on land owned by the U.S. Department of Energy in Ohio. The development, being built by SoftBank-backed SB Energy, would be one of the world's largest data center clusters.
According to reports, OpenAI would control the equipment within the facility under a long-term lease and would be responsible for payments once it becomes operational. Chipmaker Nvidia is expected to play a significant role in backing the transaction, providing guarantees for both OpenAI's lease and SB Energy's project financing. The initial phase of the project is anticipated to deliver 800 megawatts of capacity and come online in 2028.
The proposed site is located in Pike County, Ohio, on land formerly known as the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, which produced enriched uranium for the U.S. government for nearly five decades. SB Energy is investing over $33 billion to construct 9.2 gigawatts of new gas power generation at the site, with the U.S. government eventually taking ownership of the power plant.
Both the Trump and Biden administrations have pursued policies to encourage data center and energy development on federal land. The Ohio site was among those identified by the Department of Energy as a potential location for expedited permitting of data centers and supporting power infrastructure.