Selection for Negotiations: NNSA on an AI Data Center and Energy Project at the Savannah River Site

On July 20, 2026, the Energy Department's National Nuclear Security Administration announced in a press release that it had selected a company "to enter negotiations for a phased lease to develop an artificial intelligence data center and dedicated on-site energy generation source at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina." The selection, the release says, "follows a competitive request for proposals issued by NNSA" for the site's Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure and Energy Generation Project. The company is not named here. Parts of the release follow, not the whole.

A Data Center With Its Own Generation

The proposed project, the release says, includes a data center of 1 GW and approximately 2 GW of on-site energy generation, "consisting of natural gas bridging to nuclear energy." The release's subhead calls it a proposed public-private partnership that "would pair" the data center with that generation.

Consistent, the release says, with the administration's Ratepayer Protection Pledge, the proposed project pairs new AI infrastructure with dedicated on-site energy generation, "helping ensure the project's electricity needs are met without shifting costs to existing utility customers." Through it, NNSA and the company intend, in the release's words, to "Rapidly construct a data center supported by sufficient on-site power generation while increasing the availability of power to the grid," to "Accelerate the development of AI and energy infrastructure," and to "Use public-private partnerships to advance innovative technologies and strategies."

Natural gas "bridging to" nuclear puts no date on the bridge. How long it lasts is the question the release leaves with a lender.

Federal Land

The project, the release says, supports the administration's goals of "utilizing Federal lands to lower energy costs and help power the global AI race," as outlined in executive orders on Accelerating Federal Permitting of Data Center Infrastructure, Deploying Advanced Nuclear Reactor Technologies for National Security, and Unleashing American Energy.

In April 2025, by the release's account, the Energy Department "identified 16 federal sites that could support the construction of AI data centers and associated energy infrastructure." And "The Savannah River Site and three other locations were selected to move forward with efforts to invite private-sector development." This selection is of a company, for one of those sites.

Subject to Negotiations

"Selection for negotiations does not constitute a final lease award," the release says. Any agreement "will be subject to successful negotiations and all applicable permitting requirements, safety and security evaluations, and other federal approvals."

A selection to negotiate is not a lease.

Additional information about the project and the lease negotiations, the release says, "will be released through the appropriate channels as it becomes available."