- August 17, 2026 → OpenAI — announcement date of the PORTS-Pike agreement
- 2032 → OpenAI — end of the six-year construction buildout
- 2028 → OpenAI — first 800 MW availability
- 2026–2027 academic year → Codex for Ohio students — Codex credit eligibility window
The concrete bones of the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Pike County, Ohio — a facility that enriched uranium for decades — are being reborn as the footprint for one of the largest AI data centers ever planned in the United States.
OpenAI announced the agreement on August 17, 2026 OpenAI, saying it had secured roughly 8 gigawatts of IT capacity at the PORTS-Pike Technology Campus alongside SB Energy, NVIDIA, and the U.S. Department of Energy.
A partnership pitched to Pike County
OpenAI framed the deal as a community partnership rather than a land grab. “We want to develop this project as a partner to Pike County — paying its project-specific energy and infrastructure costs, using water responsibly, creating opportunities for local workers and businesses, and making long-term investments shaped by the community,” said OpenAI.
The numbers are huge. The site is expected to create 35,000 construction jobs across a six-year buildout through 2032 OpenAI and 2,500 long-term operating roles. SB Energy will build, own, and operate the campus under a 20-year lease to OpenAI.
The water and power catch
Not everything is settled. The first 800 megawatts are expected to come online in 2028 OpenAI, mostly using existing American Electric Power infrastructure. The rest of the buildout depends on new power plants — including natural gas generation — plus new transmission lines and environmental reviews that have not yet cleared.
OpenAI says it will cover its own energy and grid costs, and SB Energy will pay for transmission upgrades so the bill does not shift to Ohio ratepayers. Yet the project still depends on water in a region where cooling has historically been thirsty work. OpenAI says it will use closed-loop, air-cooled systems and publish expected water use once the design is finalized.
The scale fits a pattern of OpenAI’s rural data-center bets, including its Project Camellia in Georgia zBrandco. Both projects promise jobs and tax revenue while leaning on communities that did not ask for the AI race.
Beyond the data center fence
On top of SB Energy’s previously announced $40 million community commitment, OpenAI will add another $40 million shaped by local priorities such as schools, housing, and workforce training OpenAI. NVIDIA will invest $1.5 billion in SB Energy and provide credit support for the initial buildout, while the campus will exclusively host NVIDIA AI compute.
The deal reaches beyond construction. OpenAI will make up to $84 million in Codex credits OpenAI available to roughly 844,000 eligible Ohio college and trade-school students during the 2026–2027 academic year Codex for Ohio students, giving each verified student $100 in ChatGPT coding tooling.
Whether Pike County becomes a template for the next era of American industrialization — or a cautionary tale about who pays for the AI buildout — will hinge on the permits, the power lines, and the community compact still being written.
