DOE picks 4 sites to build data centers on federal land
The sites — the Idaho National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Reservation, Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant and Savannah River Site — are 'well-situated for large-scale data centers, new power generation and other necessary infrastructure,' DOE said in a release.
'By leveraging DOE land assets for the deployment of AI and energy infrastructure, we are taking a bold step to accelerate the next Manhattan Project — ensuring U.S. AI and energy leadership,' Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a statement. The department said it would be inviting private sector partners to develop data center and energy generation projects.
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The plan aims to address one of the largest challenges facing the energy sector: how to find enough electricity to support a technology boom and ensure the United States stays competitive with China in developing AI technologies. According to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, data centers could consume roughly 12 percent of U.S. electricity by 2028.
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Chris Wright Touts Energy Department Report's Misleading Climate Claims
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AI could turn your town nuclear
These days, Paducah, Kentucky — population 27,000 and home to the National Quilt Museum — prides itself as 'Quilt City.' But decades ago, it was also called the 'Atomic City' — a moniker it could soon regain as AI's energy needs bring Paducah's nuclear past back to life. The Department of Energy (DOE) operated a uranium enrichment plant in Paducah for more than 60 years until the plant shuttered in 2013 amid a downturn in nuclear energy. The same year, Paducah was designated a UNESCO 'creative city' for its quilts, a title it now boasts on its website (along with a city-led initiative to make Paducah more 'considerate and kind'). Today, the enrichment facility is in the spotlight again after a Peter Thiel-backed startup announced plans to revive the shuttered plant. In July, Donald Trump's administration also chose Paducah as one of four sites where it says it'll partner with private companies to develop AI data centers and energy projects. Big Tech — thirsty for enough electricity to power its AI ambitions — wants to make nuclear energy cool again. It's all playing into the Trump administration's plans to remake the US power grid without solar and wind power. If they manage to revitalize nuclear energy in America, the US is going to need more enriched uranium. And that supply chain could bring big changes to even small cities like Paducah. Big Tech — thirsty for enough electricity to power its AI ambitions — wants to make nuclear energy cool again General Matter emerged from stealth mode earlier this year, led by former SpaceX engineer Scott Nolan. Peter Thiel, who cofounded PayPal and the datamining company Palantir that's selling software to the Trump administration to surveil people who migrate to the US, joined General Matter's board. And Nolan stood in the Oval Office with Trump on May 23rd as he signed executive orders ostensibly aimed at ushering in 'a nuclear energy renaissance.' At an August 5th event in Paducah, General Matter shared details about its vision for the facility. It says it'll develop what it considers the 'the nation's first U.S.-owned, privately developed uranium enrichment facility' on the site and that it has signed 'a multi-decade, one hundred-acre lease' with the DOE. General Matter plans to start enriching uranium in Paducah by the end of the decade and 'produce the fuel needed for the next generation of nuclear energy, central to America's aspirations in AI, manufacturing, and other critical industries,' according to a statement on X. (A DOE press release says enrichment operations aren't planned until 2034, however, and that construction is slated to start in 2026.) That doesn't quite answer some key questions about the company's plans. (General Matter didn't respond to several emails from The Verge.) Will the company rely on the same outdated technology the shuttered plant has always used or build something new? If it does plan to revamp the facility with modern technology, does it plan to produce the same kind of low-enriched uranium that America's existing nuclear reactors run on, or does it think it can be one of the first plants to produce more highly enriched uranium (called HALEU) for advanced reactors? The answers to those questions will define how ambitious of a project this really is, and the impact it could have on power grids across the US. The recent DOE press release notes that General Matter is one of four companies the agency selected in October of last year to provide enrichment services for HALEU, although the DOE also announced plans to contract General Matter for low-enriched uranium in December. Enrichment is just one step, and kind of a headache, in the nuclear supply chain. Uranium first has to be mined and milled. Naturally occurring uranium has low levels of the isotope U-235 that nuclear fission reactors split to release energy. The uranium has to be converted into gas and then enriched to about a 5 percent concentration of U-235 to make fuel for a traditional reactor. Following a boom in nuclear power plants built in the 1970s and 1980s, however, the industry lost ground to gas-fired power plants generating electricity at lower costs. Nuclear reactors and uranium enrichment plants shuttered across the US. But now, the opposite is happening. Microsoft and Meta have inked deals over the past year to revive old reactors. Other tech giants, including Amazon and Google, have committed to supporting companies designing advanced reactors that are supposed to be smaller, easier, and cheaper to build — potentially solving many of the problems that have plagued the nuclear energy industry for years, if they can eventually prove that these technologies are going to be able to perform at commercial scale. That's all driving up demand for uranium enrichment, now seen as a significant bottleneck in the nuclear energy supply chain. General Matter isn't the only operation seeking to enrich uranium in Paducah. The DOE has had a deal with another company called Global Laser Enrichment (GLE) since 2016 to sell it leftover tails, depleted uranium, from years of enrichment for nuclear weapons and reactors at the site. GLE has been developing a new way to enrich uranium using lasers that's supposed to be efficient enough to re-enrich uranium tails so that they can be used to make fuel again. General Matter similarly plans to re-enrich depleted uranium tails in Paducah, according to the DOE press release, although we still don't know what kind of technology it will use to do so. Laser technology has yet to be used to enrich uranium at commercial scale. Over the past decade, there just wasn't enough demand for more uranium enrichment capacity in the US to move forward, says Nima Ashkeboussi, vice president of government relations and communications at GLE. Then Russia — a major supplier for nuclear fuel globally — invaded Ukraine, and in 2024, and the US barred imports of uranium from Russia. GLE applied for a license in June to finally start re-enriching the depleted uranium tails at a site adjacent to the Paducah plant, and expects to hear back from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in about 18 months. If all goes well, GLE plans to have its facility up and running by 2030 so it can start making the low-enriched uranium traditionally used by existing nuclear reactors. If at least one of the advanced reactors makes it to commercial operation, Ashkeboussi says that'll be a market signal that it can start producing more highly enriched uranium (called HALEU) that next-generation reactors need. For now, only Russia has the capability to commercially produce HALEU. But already, data centers and AI have been a major driver in reinvigorating nuclear energy, Ashkeboussi tells The Verge. 'We see that as a huge growth potential,' he says. Both the Biden and Trump administrations have worked toward onshoring the nuclear supply chain again. The US currently has the capacity to enrich about a third of the uranium its nuclear reactors need. For Joe Biden, nuclear energy supported US climate goals of slashing planet-heating pollution by transitioning away from fossil fuels in the power grid. Trump is sabotaging US climate commitments and renewable energy projects, but still says nuclear energy has a role to play when it comes to making sure US tech companies have enough electricity to dominate the AI market. The plans for Paducah seem to fit neatly into the Trump administration's vision for AI, which it released last month. 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It's a carbon pollution-free source of electricity. But uranium mining near the Grand Canyon has already sparked opposition from environmental advocates and the Havasupai Tribe over how it could affect nearby communities and the water sources on which they rely. And the federal government has yet to solve decades of wrangling over where to store radioactive waste from nuclear reactors. Adding to those concerns, the Trump administration wants to build on federal lands and even repurpose polluted Superfund sites for all this infrastructure. The shuttered enrichment plant in Paducah itself is a Superfund site, which means it's on a list of places so contaminated that the Environmental Protection Agency has stepped in to prioritize their cleanup. That legacy shows the pitfalls and hurdles that policymakers and companies will have to try to avoid if they want to bring nuclear energy back to small-town USA. 'Regardless of what's happening with the Trump administration, this is a massively bipartisan undertaking regarding uranium enrichment. There is a lot of support for it right now. I think there's a lot of momentum to really get it right,' says Rowen Price, senior policy advisor for nuclear energy at the nonprofit Third Way, which supports nuclear energy. Local lawmakers, for their part, have shown optimism over Paducah potentially playing a pivotal role in the future of AI and energy in the US. General Matter's $1.5 billion proposed project in Paducah is supposed to create 140 jobs, according to Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear (D-KY). 'Just a few years ago, the idea of Kentucky leading the next wave of nuclear energy development may have seemed ambitious,' Sen. Danny Carroll (R-KY) wrote in an op-ed in the Lexington Herald-Leader. 'Paducah is again at the center of America's nuclear future.' Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. 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E&E News
10 hours ago
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Nuclear's next act hinges on DOE loan office
Nuclear supporters want the Trump administration to underwrite a bevy of projects to kickstart a renaissance for the sector. Top Trump officials, like Energy Secretary Chris Wright, say they're on board. But the Department of Energy is slow-walking new loans across the energy industry and losing staff at its Loan Programs Office who could be pivotal for advancing the loans. Advertisement 'Continued investment in the LPO will be key to advancing the next generation of nuclear technologies, developing a cleaner and more resilient electric grid, and securing our nation's energy dominance goals,' said Michael Flannigan, vice president of governmental affairs at the Nuclear Energy Institute. 'The $1 billion appropriated for the LPO in the reconciliation bill reinforces its integral role,' he added. July's One Big Beautiful Bill Act replaced the LPO's previous energy infrastructure reinvestment program with a new Energy Dominance Financing mechanism. It broadens the scope of eligible projects to include those related to critical minerals and emphasizes grid reliability, while potentially excluding some previous greenhouse gas emission reduction projects. For nuclear energy, this could mean a clearer pathway to financing through a new eligibility category specifically supporting projects that enhance grid reliability, directly benefiting nonintermittent and baseload power sources like advanced nuclear reactors. But the expanded eligibility may also shrink nuclear's slice of the pie, according to Matt Bowen and Ashley Finan of Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy. 'The broadening of the LPO's authority to support fossil and critical minerals projects could limit the commitment authority available for nuclear energy if many fossil and mineral projects are supported,' the pair wrote in July. The LPO has been pivotal in supporting groundbreaking energy technologies, including financing Tesla's first factory. But many in the industry view it as particularly indispensable for nuclear power. 'The important contributions of the DOE Loan Programs Office are fundamental to getting reactors off the ground,' Dan Lipman, president of energy systems at nuclear developer Westinghouse, said at a July panel on the nuclear resurgence. So far under the Trump administration, DOE has been reluctant to sign off on new loans. Utilities across the country, for example, are angling for more than $20 billion in loans tentatively approved under former President Joe Biden to modernize the grid and add new clean energy. Last month, DOE canceled a tentatively approved loan for the Grain Belt Express, a transmission line that aimed to ferry wind and solar energy from the Great Plains to urban centers in the eastern U.S. But the LPO has continued to disburse loan installments as part of a $1.5 billion loan guarantee to support the restart of the Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan, expected to be completed this fall. The office backed Georgia's Vogtle Units 3 and 4 with loans in 2010 and 2019 totaling $12 billion — more than one-third of the expansion project's ultimate price tag. On Tuesday, Wright said on X that nuclear power 'is the single biggest issue' he works on. While the industry broadly backs the LPO, some argue its broad mandate creates challenges for efficiently financing novel projects. 'It is not the easiest entity to work with, but it's getting a lot better,' said Jacob DeWitte, CEO of advanced nuclear startup Oklo. 'A nuclear project does have different dynamics than like a solar project,' DeWitte continued, adding that the LPO was designed to support large conventional reactors rather than small modular designs that aim for mass production. He suggested that providing a package loan to support several projects from a given company would probably be more efficient for Oklo and other developers. 'Being able to find answers to those things and be iterative, that was an area where we've seen continued improvement, but there's still continued opportunity,' DeWitte said. Concern over risk and financing is shared by some of the nation's largest utilities. Harry Sedaris, CEO of Duke Energy — which operates one of the largest nuclear fleets in the U.S. — told analysts that while nuclear 'has a lot of promise in the future,' there are still serious hurdles to address before the company moves forward with new projects. He pointed to the need for clearer answers on design, supply chain and workforce challenges, as well as the 'first-of-a-kind risk' tied to advanced reactors. 'We're also going to have to have overrun protection from the federal government or others to be able to protect our customers and our investors,' Sedaris said. Until then, he added, Duke is focused on solar, natural gas and optimizing its existing power plants. To that end, a January report from EFI Foundation and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman concluded that reforms to the LPO were needed: 'Reforms to the LPO process are necessary to facilitate timely and efficient support for advanced nuclear projects, including streamlined application processes and increased program staffing.' Yet paradoxically, the Trump administration is lauding the office as a cornerstone of nuclear deployment goals at the same time that it is reportedly overseeing mass departures. The Washington Examiner reported in April that approximately 123 out of 210 employees took the deferred resignation offer. Meanwhile, an internal document viewed by POLITICO's E&E News in July showed DOE was considering LPO hiring caps of 125 to 140 full-time employees and 70 to 60 contractors by fiscal 2028. The department had 412 federal and contractor employees at the end of 2024, including part-time workers, according to the Government Accountability Office. 'A slowdown at LPO would be a disaster for nuclear energy, to be quite frank,' Katy Huff, former assistant secretary for nuclear energy under President Joe Biden, said. 'Commercial banks are not going to provide low-cost financing for nuclear reactor construction — especially initial investments in these technologies. It has to be the LPO.' E&E News has not independently confirmed expected LPO staff departures. DOE wrote in an email: 'We do not have final numbers to share at this time. The Energy Department's Loan Programs Office remains ready to deliver on President Trump's energy dominance agenda and help bring about the next American nuclear renaissance.' When asked about the reported resignations at a May panel, Alex Fitzsimmons, then-chief of staff for Energy Secretary Chris Wright, said: 'We have to be able to do more with less. I think we will get to a place where we evolve. We will have a right-sized office. The Loan Programs Office grew quite considerably in the last four years.' But the reports of dramatic staff reductions have raised alarms with some about the LPO's capacity to oversee its considerable financial obligations. 'The LPO was already doing so much oversight — review, audit, control management of deliverables. It takes humans to protect the billions backed by LPO loan guarantees. You cut staff in half, and those government employees cannot reasonably manage that scale,' Huff said. Reporter Jeffrey Tomich contributed.
