Major Tech Firms Explore AI Data Center Opportunities at DOE's Savannah River Site
January 14, 2026 Leading technology and energy companies, including Microsoft, Google, CoreWeave, and QTS, convened at a recent industry day hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to explore the development of advanced AI data centers and associated power infrastructure at the Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina. The meeting underscores the intensifying global race for AI compute capacity and the critical search for reliable, large-scale energy sources to power it. The event, organized by the DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), presented a formal opportunity for private sector entities to evaluate proposals for building on federal land. Attendees spanned the tech and energy sectors, with notable presence from hyperscalers like Meta, Digital Realty, and Oracle, as well as energy firms such as Bloom Energy, Oklo, and Terrestrial Energy. Amazon was a notable absence from the gathering. The SRS is one of 16 federal sites identified last year for potential private AI data center development and is among four locations considered most advanced in the process. The site offers ten tracts of land totaling 3,103 acres for potential data center or power generation projects, with a mandate that proposals "must include new energy generation." Current power infrastructure includes access to three redundant 115kV transmission lines and an on-site 20MW biomass plant. Furthermore, two commercially-owned 75MW solar facilities with battery storage are under development and slated for operation in 2029. NNSA officials emphasized the site's unique suitability for nuclear power, given its historical role in the nuclear weapons program. In his opening remarks, NNSA Principal Deputy Administrator Scott Pappano framed the initiative with historic urgency, stating, "I am tasked to oversee the modern-day Manhattan Project... We are in a global race right now for AI compute power and the energy that's needed to drive that." He explicitly prioritized nuclear energy for the site, noting, "I really want to drive nuclear power there. That's the most important thing." Peter Mandelstam from the DOE's Energy Dominance Financing office encouraged proposals, highlighting that data center projects are "a priority of the President" and that creative financing options, including loans for nuclear projects, are available. The potential partnership also extends to workloads. NNSA officials indicated an openness to hosting commercial AI data centers that could also run secure government simulations, leveraging some of the world's most powerful supercomputers used for nuclear stockpile management. Si Hammond, NNSA program director for advanced computing, hinted at the scale of these needs, remarking, "I'd probably have to get out the Men in Black memory eraser if I told you what we really did." This move by the DOE represents a significant shift in federal land use policy, aiming to leverage underutilized government assets to address national imperatives in AI and energy security. A successful project at SRS could set a precedent for public-private partnerships in critical infrastructure, accelerating the deployment of next-generation AI compute capacity while driving innovation in clean, firm power generation, particularly advanced nuclear technologies. Source: datacenterdynamics
