Twitter/X

Softbank announced a 10 GW data center project in Ohio sited at the former…

2026-03-20 · 20:22 UTC ·@curious_founder ·1 min read

Brief

Softbank plans a 10 GW data center at the Portsmouth Superfund site in Ohio with an 800 MW first phase due in 2028 costing $30–40B and no tenant announced, paired with 9.2 GW of gas plants costing $33B (~$3,587/kW). The gas buildout could add ~20 million tCO2/yr, boosting Ohio’s power-sector emissions ~30%.

Why it matters

Softbank announced a 10 GW data center project in Ohio sited at the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (an EPA Superfund site); phase 1 is 800 MW expected online in 2028, with an estimated cost of $30–40 billion and no tenant announced.

Key details

  • The plan includes 9.2 GW of natural gas power plants across Ohio at an estimated cost of $33 billion (≈ $3,587/kW), roughly 4× the recent EIA average gas-plant cost.
  • If the gas plants run at the average utilization of a modern combined-cycle plant, they could emit ~20 million tons CO2/year—enough to raise Ohio’s electricity-sector emissions by about 30%; the Portsmouth site, which produced Cold War-era weapons-grade uranium, is slated to host one of the world’s largest AI supercomputers by decade’s end.
Cleaned source text

title: @curious_founder: Softbank just announced that it plans to build a 10 GW data center and gas power plants in Ohio. Her...

author: @curious_founder

content_type: tweet

publication: Twitter/X

published: 2026-03-20T20:22:42+00:00

source_url: https://x.com/curious_founder/status/2035089673182486742

word_count: 218

Softbank just announced that it plans to build a 10 GW data center and gas power plants in Ohio. Here's a breakdown of the project and some context on the cost / impact:

The data center would be built at the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Ohio, an EPA Superfund site seen in the satellite image below. The power plants would be built across Ohio.

The first phase of the data center would have 800 MW of capacity and come online in 2028. Softbank says that phase alone would cost $30-40B. It hasn't announced a tenant.

The 9.2 GW of natural gas power plant capacity would cost $33 billion. That means they'd cost $3,587/kW, which is 4x what EIA says the average gas plant cost just a few years ago.

Those gas power plants would have a significant environmental impact. They could emit ~20 million tons of CO2 per year assuming they run as often as the average modern combined cycle plant.

That would be enough to boost Ohio's electricity emissions by 30%.

The Portsmouth site produced uranium for nuclear weapons during the Cold War. By the end of the decade, it will be home to one of the largest AI supercomputers in the world.