Data centers in McCracken County, Kentucky: 3 projects mapped

Imagery: Esri, Maxar

On July 29, 2026, the Department of Energy announced the Paducah American Energy Hub, a data center campus planned for the former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, a shuttered uranium enrichment site in McCracken County. Brookfield will build and run the campus, projected at more than $100 billion, on 600 acres leased from the department; NextEra Energy Resources will build a separate 2,000-megawatt energy campus of natural gas plants on another 200 acres, with 300 more set aside for batteries. Big Rivers Electric will supply wholesale power and Jackson Purchase Energy Cooperative will deliver it. No tenant has been named for the data center itself.

Gov. Andy Beshear was not at the announcement, which Energy Secretary Chris Wright attended; his spokesperson said the next day the governor "hasn't been briefed by any of the companies or agencies involved" and had questions about power, environmental impact, jobs and taxes. Bruce Wilcox of Greater Paducah Economic Development told the fiscal court on August 10 that the project already meets the standard: "To my knowledge, there are no state, local or school tax incentives offered on this project." He said the data center and gas plant would use under 5 million gallons of water a day, against the 30 million the old plant used, and that developers bear the full cost under a federal ratepayer protection pledge. The companies project 8,000 construction jobs and 600 permanent ones.

The county already has one large power user: Riot Platforms runs a 60 megawatt bitcoin mine at Industrial Park West outside Paducah, bought in 2024 with Block Mining, which it says could grow to 110 megawatts. In May 2026 Riot announced a partnership with Terrestrial Energy that could someday put a small nuclear reactor at the site, though no timeline has been set.

Every project above is drawn from public records, filings and local reporting. Each row links to what it is based on. Statuses change, so check the source date before you rely on one. Found something wrong? Write to [email protected] and it gets fixed.