The U.S. Department of Energy has narrowed the field to five finalist states for a new program to build nuclear energy “innovation campuses” that could bring a combined $50 billion in capital investment and, in some cases, host data centers alongside the nuclear research facilities, according to Realtor.com’s reporting on the department’s request for proposals.
Utah, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Idaho and Louisiana were selected from applications submitted by 26 states. Each finalist could host a campus where the federal government studies the “full nuclear fuel cycle” — fabrication, enrichment, reprocessing of used nuclear fuel, and disposal — as part of what DOE is calling an effort to kick-start the country’s nuclear energy capacity. Some campuses might also host advanced reactor deployment, power generation and advanced manufacturing, though DOE has not yet decided how it will divide research projects among the sites or how many campuses it will ultimately build.
“These campuses will be massive generators of economic growth, create thousands of high-paying jobs, and be crucial to unleashing America’s nuclear renaissance,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said. “The innovative concept is a direct result of President Trump’s leadership and ambitious directives to restore the domestic nuclear fuel cycle and get America’s nuclear industry growing again.”
The data center connection
DOE’s request for proposals states that the innovation campuses would host in-house data centers to support scientific and national security applications — and that the campuses’ combination of nuclear expertise, secure infrastructure and proximity to advanced reactor deployment “may attract leading technology companies to establish data centers within or near the Innovation Campuses.” That framing ties the nuclear buildout directly to the real estate story RealtyWire has tracked all year: AI data center developers racing to secure enough power to support new campuses, often by locating near existing or planned energy infrastructure.
The federal government aims to nearly quadruple U.S. nuclear energy output, from 97 gigawatts in 2025 to 400 gigawatts by 2050, a push that includes $17.5 billion to purchase nuclear reactors for five new power plants. The nation’s 97 existing nuclear reactors currently supply 19% of U.S. electric power. The push comes as data center energy demand has been cited as a factor in rising electricity costs for homeowners in some markets, and as more than 4,000 data centers now operate nationwide — a figure Goldman Sachs projects could see power demand more than double between 2025 and 2027, though the bank estimates only 50% to 60% of planned data center capacity will actually come online due to delays and cancellations.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox welcomed the prospect of hosting a campus. “Utah welcomes the chance to help America reclaim its leadership in civil nuclear energy,” Cox said. “We’re building the advanced technologies that will drive affordable, abundant power across our country.” DOE’s request for proposals requires participating states to prioritize training, apprenticeships and partnerships with local higher education to build a pipeline of nuclear scientists, engineers, operators and skilled trades workers. States that continue to pursue the investment will need to sign hosting agreements with DOE in the future.
What it means
Verified facts: DOE has named Utah, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Idaho and Louisiana as finalists for nuclear innovation campuses projected to bring $50 billion in investment and 25,000 jobs, with the department’s own proposal language explicitly linking the sites to future data center development.
RealtyWire analysis: This program is a notable escalation in the federal government positioning itself as a direct enabler of data center site selection — rather than data center developers independently chasing power wherever it exists, DOE is now designing federal nuclear sites with data center co-location built into the concept from the start. Real estate investors and developers tracking the AI infrastructure buildout should watch which of these five states signs hosting agreements first, since that could signal where the next wave of federally adjacent data center real estate activity concentrates.
Related: Federal Nuclear Site in Aiken County, S.C., Advances Toward 1-Gigawatt AI Data Center and Brookfield, NextEra to Build $100 Billion AI Data Center Campus on Former Kentucky Uranium Site.
