NNSA just picked its first AI data center builder on federal land. The award bundles the power plant into the same scope.
On July 20, NNSA selected Amentum and DC Blox to negotiate a lease for a roughly 1-gigawatt AI data center at the Savannah River Site — the first developer pick to come out of DOE's federal-land AI buildout. The scope bundles data center construction with on-site power generation, on a secured nuclear complex with its own badging and wage rules.
The federal government just named its first construction partner for an AI data center built on its own land. On July 20, NNSA selected Amentum and DC Blox to negotiate a lease at the Savannah River Site for a roughly 1-gigawatt data center backed by 2 gigawatts of on-site power generation — and the award bundles the power plant into the same scope as the building.
What actually got announced?
NNSA picked Amentum and DC Blox to enter negotiations for a phased lease covering 250 to 450 acres at the Savannah River Site, a Cold War-era nuclear materials complex outside Aiken, South Carolina. The plan: a roughly 1-gigawatt AI data center supported by about 2 gigawatts of dedicated, on-site power generation — natural gas first, transitioning to advanced nuclear later. NNSA is explicit that this is a selection for negotiations, not a signed lease. The deal still has to clear terms, environmental and safety review, and security evaluations before a construction contract exists.
Why does a data center project include a power plant?
Because the site isn't connected to enough grid capacity to run it, and the developer isn't waiting on a utility interconnection queue that can take years. "Behind-the-meter" generation — power built specifically for the data center, not sold back to the grid — has become the default structure for AI campuses that need gigawatt-scale power faster than regional grids can deliver it, and it sidesteps the kind of grid strain that just forced FERC to write new rules for data centers already on the PJM system. At Savannah River, that means the same team responsible for the data center shell and fit-out is also responsible for standing up gas turbines now and, eventually, an advanced reactor. For a GC used to bidding a data center as a building with a utility feed, this is a different animal: two industrial construction disciplines under one award.
How does this compare to DOE's other federal sites?
Savannah River isn't the only property DOE opened up. It's one of four finalists that came out of a 2025 request for information covering 16 federal properties:
| Site | State | Status as of July 2026 | Scale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Savannah River Site | SC | Developer selected (Amentum/DC Blox), lease negotiations underway | ~1 GW data center, ~2 GW generation |
| Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant | KY | RFP issued, proposals under review | Up to 3 GW capacity across ~785 usable acres |
| Oak Ridge Reservation | TN | RFP issued for two site areas | 95+ acres for data center-only parcel |
| Idaho National Laboratory | ID | RFA issued, leases up to 100,000 acres | Multiple projects expected |
Savannah River is simply the first to cross from "solicitation" into "developer picked." Expect the other three to follow on their own timelines through 2026 and 2027.
What's different for a GC bidding this pipeline?
A few things that don't come up on a private hyperscaler job:
- Teaming matters more than trade capacity. Winning this scope means partnering with a power-generation EPC, not just a data center fit-out contractor. Amentum and DC Blox is a pairing of a federal engineering/operations firm with a data center developer — that's the template.
- Security clearance and badging is a schedule item, not a footnote. Savannah River is an active NNSA nuclear complex. Site access for craft labor runs through background checks and badging processes a commercial job site doesn't have, and that timeline needs to be built into staffing plans before award, not after.
- Assume prevailing wage. Federal construction contracts over $2,000 default to Davis-Bacon wage determinations. Nothing here suggests this pipeline will be priced as open-shop private work.
- "Selected" isn't "funded." NNSA's own language — subject to negotiation, permitting, and security review — means this is a signal to start positioning, not a signal that a notice to proceed is imminent.
Should a mid-size GC or trade sub chase this?
Only with a realistic timeline. This is federal contracting layered on top of data center construction: slower to reach notice-to-proceed than a private hyperscaler deal, but with a longer runway once it does, and a specific short list of teaming partners who will win these awards. The move now isn't bidding the Savannah River job — that scope is already spoken for. It's tracking the Paducah, Oak Ridge, and Idaho solicitations through DOE's procurement channels and figuring out, months ahead of an RFP closing, who your power-generation teaming partner would be if one of those sites lands near your existing footprint.
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The next site to watch: Paducah's RFP is further along than Oak Ridge or Idaho's, and its reservation is rated for triple the power capacity of Savannah River.
- What did NNSA just announce for the Savannah River Site?
- On July 20, 2026, the National Nuclear Security Administration selected Amentum and DC Blox to begin negotiating a phased lease for a roughly 1-gigawatt AI data center at the Savannah River Site in Aiken County, South Carolina, backed by about 2 gigawatts of on-site power generation starting with natural gas and shifting to advanced nuclear.
- Does this mean construction is starting soon at the Savannah River Site?
- No. The announcement covers selection for lease negotiations only, not a final award. NNSA's own release states the deal still has to clear lease terms, permitting, and safety and security evaluations before any construction contract follows, so a realistic groundbreaking is well into 2027 or later.
- Will other DOE sites get similar AI data center projects?
- Yes. Savannah River is one of four finalist sites DOE narrowed down from an original list of 16 federal properties. Idaho National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Reservation in Tennessee, and the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Kentucky are all moving through their own site-specific RFP processes; Paducah's reservation alone is rated for up to 3 gigawatts of capacity.
- Does Davis-Bacon prevailing wage apply to construction on these DOE data center leases?
- It hasn't been finalized for this specific deal, but Davis-Bacon prevailing wage rules apply by default to federal construction contracts over $2,000, and DOE treats it as standard on its site work. Contractors pricing this pipeline should assume certified payroll and prevailing wage compliance rather than treat it as private commercial work.
- What's different about bidding a data center on federal land versus a private hyperscaler site?
- The scope is bundled: the winning team designs, finances, builds, and operates both the data center and its dedicated on-site power generation, starting with gas turbines and potentially adding a small modular reactor later. The site itself is a secured federal nuclear complex, so background checks and badging timelines have to be built into the schedule in a way a private greenfield build doesn't require.