# DOE Opens Federal Sites for AI Data Centers

The Department of Energy is opening federal sites to privately financed AI data center development while seeking faster grid connections and dedicated power generation. The opportunity includes a DOE land solicitation for sites near Oak Ridge, negotiations with Amentum for a phased lease at Savannah River Site, and a planned Paducah AI campus involving Brookfield and NextEra Energy. The activity responds to projections that data centers could consume 9.5%–15% of U.S. electricity by 2030, creating procurement and partnership opportunities across data center development, generation, storage, grid modernization, cybersecurity, and AI infrastructure.

- DOE’s Oak Ridge-area solicitation concerns long-term leases for two parcels; the signal provides no solicitation deadline or contract value.
- At Savannah River Site, Amentum was selected to negotiate a phased lease for a 1 GW data center with approximately 2 GW of on-site generation. At Paducah, the planned 1.8 GW campus is associated with a reported $100 billion privately funded investment, up to 2 GW of gas-fired generation, and 2.6 GW of battery storage.
- Contractors and suppliers can assess opportunities in site development, power generation and storage, grid connections, cybersecurity, and AI infrastructure. DOE technology priorities are also scheduled for discussion at the FedCiv Summit on October 29, 2026.

**Jurisdictions:** federal
**Industries:** Information Technology, Energy & Utilities
**Topics:** Artificial Intelligence, Digital Infrastructure
**Published:** October 09, 2026

### Government Entities
- U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)

### Vendors
- Amentum (Selected to negotiate a phased lease for an AI data center at Savannah River Site)
- Brookfield (Selected to develop and operate an AI campus at the Paducah site)
- NextEra Energy (Selected to develop gas-fired generation and battery storage for the Paducah AI campus)
- NVIDIA (GPU supplier for Argonne National Laboratory's Solstice supercomputer)
- AMD (Processor supplier for Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Lux system)

### Key Quotes
> 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.
> — Chris Wright, Secretary of Energy

> This RFP represents more than a ground lease for AI data center development, it offers U.S. companies a potential chance to anchor their partnership with one of our nation’s greatest assets, our National Labs.
> — Darío Gil, Under Secretary for Science

### Sources
- [How DOE Is Tackling the Data Center Power Crunch](https://www.govconwire.com/articles/data-centers-energy-ai-doe-dawn-zimmer) - GovCon Wire