OpenAI joins PORTS-Pike project

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OpenAI has entered into an agreement to secure approximately 8 gigawatts-IT at the PORTS-Pike Technology Campus in Pike County, Ohio, working with SB Energy, NVIDIA, and the U.S. Department of Energy. 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.

The project is expected to create 35,000 construction jobs during its six-year buildout through 2032 and 2,500 long-term operating jobs. We will also invest $40 million in a community grant fund supporting priorities identified by local residents—building on SB Energy’s previously announced $40 million commitment. Separately, we are providing $84 million in Codex credits through ChatGPT, giving every Ohio college student access to the technology.

Pike County helped power America’s industrial growth in the 20th century and now, with this project, it has another opportunity to play a leading role in the next era of American industrialization.

We want it to be a catalyst for jobs, business growth, and investment across Southern Ohio—and to help make this a place where young people can build careers, raise families, and choose to stay.

As we become part of the community, these principles will guide our work:

The project will pay its own energy and infrastructure costs. SB Energy will pay the full cost of the grid upgrades and new transmission lines needed to serve the data center. Those costs will not be shifted to Ohio or other ratepayers in the region. This investment will also strengthen the regional electricity grid and support more reliable power over time.

The data center will recirculate water to reduce ongoing demand. The data center will use closed-loop, air-cooled cooling systems that recirculate water rather than relying on cooling towers that continuously consume water for cooling. As a result, it will use significantly less water than historically used by the Portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant.

Once the data center cooling system is filled, ongoing water use is expected to be comparable to an office building supporting a similar number of people, including sinks and restrooms, equipment washdown and maintenance, and landscaping. PORTS-Pike is working with the Department of Energy to leverage their existing onsite water system. We will also fund new water infrastructure in partnership with and to the benefit of local communities.

Once the site design is finalized, we will publicly report the project’s expected water use.

The investment will