Plan to use the site's existing infrastructure to construct two data center buildings.
PowerTransitions is seeking to convert a decommissioned power plant and water treatment installation in Kansas City, Kansas into a data center.
According to reporting from Bizjournal, The Unified Government (UG) of Wyandotte County/Kansas City is reviewing a purchase agreement for the Quindaro power station.
The former fossil-fueled power plant is located on a 85-acre property at 3601 N. 12th St. It is owned by the UG and managed by the Board of Public Utilities (BPU). The BPU disconnected two of the power plant's electricity generating units in 2019 and issued a request for proposals to redevelop the property in September 2023.
PowerTransitions director of redevelopment, Patrick Brosnan told the committee that the company plans to use the site's existing infrastructure to construct two data center buildings.
“The capital costs to be able to take on those environmental liabilities is outweighed by the ability to be able to access the grid quicker with the existing electric infrastructure,” Brosnan said.
The proposed data center is estimated to require 192MW of power annually, over a minimum 20 year life.
PowerTransitions aims to have the site ready for data center construction by 2027–2028, which is faster than starting from a greenfield site, given current supply chain delays pushing new builds to 2029 or later.
If approved, PowerTransitions will pay $100 for a 60-day due diligence period, followed by a $100,000 fee for a one-year option to market the site. A second year would require a $250,000 extension. If PowerTransitions proceeds with the purchase, it would pay around $160,000 per acre, minus the costs of demolition and environmental cleanup.
Currently, the 85-acre site is valued at $13.6 million, but estimated remediation costs are estimated at $20 million.
Cleanup would involve removing hazardous materials like asbestos, lead, and industrial waste, and demolishing outdated facilities.
BPU general manager Jeremy Ash said the local government lacks funds for the necessary remediation, likely requiring debt financing to support the projects redevelopment.
PowerTransitions is an energy development company focused on the acquisition and redevelopment of retired or near-retiring thermal generation and industrial assets with existing electrical interconnection capacity that can be modified or retrofitted into sustainable infrastructure. It is backed by major energy transition fund EnCap Investments.
