OpenAI said on August 17, 2026 that it 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. According to OpenAI’s announcement, the first 800 megawatts are expected to become available in 2028, with a six-year buildout running through 2032.

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The project at a glance

Item As stated by OpenAI
Developer SB Energy
Capacity user OpenAI
Partners SB Energy, NVIDIA, U.S. Department of Energy
Location PORTS-Pike Technology Campus, Pike County, Ohio
Total capacity Approximately 8 GW-IT
First phase 800 MW, expected in 2028
Buildout Six years, through 2032
Compute Exclusively NVIDIA AI compute infrastructure
Construction jobs 35,000 during the buildout
Long-term jobs 2,500

The site

SB Energy is developing the project “across private land and remediated land controlled by the Department of Energy at the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant.” OpenAI says the data center “will exclusively host NVIDIA AI compute infrastructure,” and that it is contracting for the capacity “based on our projected long-term needs for frontier training and growing demand for our products.”

Power and transmission

The first 800 MW is expected to come online in 2028 “largely using existing AEP infrastructure.” Beyond that phase, OpenAI says further development “will require new power plants connected to the grid, including natural gas generation, as well as new transmission lines and associated infrastructure.” SB Energy will pay the full cost of the grid upgrades and new transmission lines needed to serve the data center.

NVIDIA’s role and financing

NVIDIA will invest $1.5 billion in SB Energy and will provide credit support for the land, power and shell buildout associated with the initial 4.25 IT-GW, according to the announcement. NVIDIA is therefore both the exclusive compute supplier for the campus and a financial backer of its developer.

Jobs and community commitments

OpenAI expects the project to create 35,000 construction jobs over the six-year buildout and 2,500 long-term operating jobs. OpenAI will invest $40 million in a community grant fund shaped by local residents’ priorities, building on SB Energy’s previously announced $40 million commitment. Separately, OpenAI is making up to $84 million in Codex credits available to approximately 844,000 eligible Ohio college, community college and technical school students during the 2026–2027 academic year.

What changes

PORTS-Pike gives OpenAI a single campus sized at about 8 GW-IT, phased from 800 MW in 2028 to full buildout by 2032. The early phase draws mainly on existing grid capacity; the later phases depend on new gas-fired generation and new transmission, which SB Energy has said it will fund on the grid side.

The campus is tracked in The Model Press AI data-center project tracker.

Sources