PIKETON, OHIO — In a move that redefines the intersection of energy and computing, Japan’s SoftBank Group has announced a $33.3 billion project to construct a massive 9.2-gigawatt (GW) gas-fired power plant in southern Ohio. The facility, developed through SoftBank’s subsidiary SB Energy in partnership with American Electric Power (AEP), is specifically designed to meet the unprecedented energy demands of a next-generation 10-gigawatt AI data center campus.
The project was officially unveiled on Friday, March 20, 2026, during a groundbreaking ceremony at the federally owned Portsmouth site—a former Cold War-era uranium enrichment facility.
A Global Benchmark in Energy Scale
The Portsmouth project is set to become one of the largest single-site power generation complexes in the world. To put the 9.2 GW capacity into perspective, one gigawatt typically powers approximately 750,000 to 1 million homes.
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, a key investor in OpenAI and a vocal proponent of “Artificial General Intelligence” (AGI), emphasized the necessity of this scale:
“This is a size bigger than any power plant, I think, in the world. Our goal is to develop the smartest intelligence in the world, and that requires the most robust energy foundation in human history.”
Key Strategic Details:
- The Site: The Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Site in Pike County is being transformed from a legacy defense asset into a cornerstone of the U.S. AI race.
- Investment Framework: This $33.3 billion initiative is a major pillar of a broader $550 billion Japanese investment pledge in the United States, negotiated under a bilateral trade agreement intended to reduce reliance on foreign supply chains.
- Infrastructure Upgrades: Beyond the power plant, SB Energy is investing an additional $4.2 billion to upgrade high-voltage (765 kV) transmission lines and substations in the region to ensure grid stability for both the data center and local consumers.
Economic and Public Impact
A central component of the deal is the “Ratepayer Protection Pledge.” To address concerns over rising electricity costs, SoftBank and AEP have agreed to a dedicated rate structure. This ensures that the multibillion-dollar cost of the new generation and transmission infrastructure is borne entirely by the project itself, rather than Ohioan families or small businesses.
The U.S. Department of Energy noted that the project will create thousands of union construction jobs and revitalize the domestic manufacturing base for high-voltage electrical equipment.
Environmental Counterpoints
While federal officials laud the project as a victory for “American reindustrialization,” it has drawn scrutiny from environmental groups. Organizations like the Sierra Club have raised concerns about the long-term carbon emissions associated with such a large-scale natural gas project, arguing that the push for AI leadership should prioritize renewable energy sources.
The Path Forward
Turbine deliveries for the 9.2 GW plant are expected to begin within the year, with the full 10 GW data center campus projected to be operational by the end of the decade. As the U.S. and Japan deepen their tech-centric alliance, the Portsmouth project serves as a physical manifestation of the race to secure the energy and compute power necessary to dominate the future of artificial intelligence.
Masayoshi-Son-Chairman-and-CEO-SoftBank-by-FT-on-Wikimedia
