Japanese Funded U.S. Government-Owned Massive Natural Gas Power Plant Planned in Southern Ohio Could Be Largest in the World at 9.2 GW: Will Power Data Centers and More

     A massive 9.2 GW natural gas power plant slated to be built in Southern Ohio near Piketon on the large site of the former gaseous diffusion plant and uranium enrichment facility could be the largest in the world. The plant, funded by Japan and to be owned by the U.S. government, is expected to cost $33 billion. The PORTS Technology Campus project will be funded by Japan, but will not be particularly beneficial to Japan. It has been reported that the investment is more of a political ploy for Japan to get in Trump’s good graces, strange as that sounds. Japan also has strong defense ties and a large tariff deal with the U.S. According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

“The project stems from the Japanese government’s pledge last year to invest $550 billion in the U.S. to prevent President Donald Trump from hiking trade tariffs on imported Japanese products.”

     The site will also house the world’s most powerful AI data center. It is expected to be the first power plant to be owned by the federal government in decades.

     Power from the plant is expected to be transported via a planned $4.2 billion transmission line project to a nearby proposed $30 billion data center, built and run by SoftBank. A summary of the numbers by The Columbus Dispatch is below.

“The data center, which is slated to begin initial operation in 2028, will house more artificial intelligence capacity than all current AI systems put together worldwide, according to SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son.”

     That is a pretty impressive boast. It will be built on a 3700-acre site owned by the U.S. government. SB Energy, a SoftBank subsidiary, will operate the power plant, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

     The Plain Dealer emphasized the unusual nature of the plant. All other power plants owned by the U.S. government are either hydroelectric plants or Tennessee Valley Authority plants. It is one of the very few projects financed by another country and owned by the U.S. Another is the nearly completed $4.4 billion Gordie Howe International Bridge, which will link Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, and is being paid for entirely by the Canadian government. However, the bridge will be jointly owned by Canada and the state of Michigan.

“While profits will be split evenly between the U.S. and Japan until Japan recoups its money, plus interest, the St. Louis Federal Reserve analysis found that the U.S. stands to benefit substantially even at moderate return levels, but “only under implausibly high-return assumptions would Japan break even.”

     A groundbreaking event was hosted at the site on March 26, with many speakers, including Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Masayoshi Son, Chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group Corp, members of Congress, the CEO of AEP Ohio (also a project partner), and many others.

     There are also planned upgrades to the existing nuclear energy projects on the site. These include $900 million in U.S. Department of Energy funding for Centrus Energy Corp. to expand its uranium enrichment operations; and an agreement between Oklo Inc. and Meta Platforms, Inc. Oklo will develop an advanced nuclear small modular reactor power project to provide up to 1.2 GW of electricity dedicated to Meta’s data centers in the region.

     According to Ohio University, before the groundbreaking:

“SB Energy announced an initial investment of over $37 billion, combining a $33 billion 10 GW power plant with $4.2 billion in AEP Ohio grid upgrades to support a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) data center. The investment for the AI data center to be built by SB Energy has not yet been disclosed { I think they said $30 billion} but it will create a hub for innovation that accelerates research and scientific discovery by dedicating this massive AI data center to cutting-edge research in quantum computing, fusion energy and national security.”

     This is truly a massive project that will cost a massive amount of money, expected to be at least $67.2 billion. 

     The project will also take advantage of the Appalachian Basin's inexpensive natural gas, utilizing as much as 1.2 BCF per day, which is quite a lot of gas. 

 

   

References:

 

US government to own massive Japanese-funded power plant in Southern Ohio. Jeremy Pelzer. Cleveland Plain Dealer. April 2, 2026. US government to own massive Japanese-funded power plant in Southern Ohio

Ohio's $33 billion power plant is massive. Here's a by-the-numbers look at Piketon facility. Dean Narciso. Columbus Dispatch. April 5, 2026. Ohio's $33 billion power plant is massive. Here's a by-the-numbers look at Piketon facility

PORTSfuture groundwork continues to pay off with job growth at Pike County plant. Ohio Today. Ohio University. March 17, 2026. PORTSfuture groundwork continues to pay off with job growth at Pike County plant