Ten tracts of land totalling 3,103 acres (1,256 hectares) at the Savannah River Site have been identified for Artificial Intelligence (AI) infrastructure projects and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) which integrate innovative energy generation and storage projects with the data centres.
The “US private sector partners will … be responsible for building, operating, and decommissioning each infrastructure project. Partners must secure utility interconnection agreements. Proposals will be competitively evaluated for technological readiness, financial viability, and detailed plans to complete regulatory and permitting requirements”, the NNSA said.
Under Secretary for Nuclear Security and NNSA Administrator Brandon Williams said: “Today’s solicitation is a great example of public-private partnership that accelerates scientific research to solve today’s challenges and strengthens US leadership in AI and energy infrastructure.”
Applications, the Request for Proposals says, “are particularly encouraged to incorporate innovative and/or on-site energy generation, such as advanced nuclear reactor technology, and storage solutions, aligning with DOE’s commitment to reliable energy, and energy- and water-efficient operations”.
Submissions are required by 5 December at 17:00 EST.
The Savannah River Site is a 310-square-mile (803-square-kilometre) site in Aiken, South Carolina, which was focused on the production of plutonium and tritium for use in the manufacture of nuclear weapons from the early 1950s until the end of the Cold War. In 1992, the focus at SRS turned to environmental cleanup, nuclear materials management, and research and development activities. It is home to Savannah River National Laboratory.
Oak Ridge proposals
In a separate announcement, the US Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management and Office of Science today issued a Request for Proposals from companies to build and power AI data centres at the Department’s Oak Ridge Reservation. Two sites are available for consideration: one at the East Tennessee Technology Park and the other on land adjacent to Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
The offices are seeking companies to potentially enter into one or more long-term leasing agreements at the site that would be solely funded by the applicants. Applicants will be responsible for building, operating, and decommissioning each infrastructure project and must secure utility interconnection agreements for new power generation and storage systems. Proposals will be competitively evaluated for technological readiness, financial viability, and detailed plans to complete regulatory and permitting requirements.
Proposals are due by 1 December.
“This RFP represents more than a ground lease for AI data centre development, it offers US companies a potential chance to anchor their partnership with one of our nation’s greatest assets, our National Labs,” Under Secretary for Science Darío Gil said.
Savannah River and Oak Ridge are two of the four sites – from an initial list of 16 – selected by the US Department of Energy to move forward with plans to invite private sector partners to develop AI data centre and energy generation projects, in line with Executive Orders issued by the US President earlier in the year. The other selected sites are Idaho National Laboratory – for which the Department of Energy in September – and the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant.
