Nvidia is investing $1.5 billion in SB Energy, securing an exclusive deal to serve as the sole compute infrastructure provider for OpenAI’s massive “Ports-Pike” data center near Cincinnati, Ohio.
To support the enormous scale of the project, Nvidia is also making up to $105 billion in credit available to assist in building the facility. Securities and Exchange Commission filings reveal that the data center’s capacity could scale from an initial 4.25 gigawatts up to 8 gigawatts.
SB Energy, a data center and power developer, counts SoftBank and OpenAI among its existing backers. SoftBank previously held a $5.8 billion stake in Nvidia stock, which it sold in November to fund separate artificial intelligence initiatives.
To meet the severe energy demands of the facility, SB Energy will construct a 9.2-gigawatt natural gas power plant directly on the site. The land, owned by the U.S. Department of Energy, previously served as a location for enriching uranium used in the U.S. nuclear arsenal and Navy submarines.
Key details surrounding the power infrastructure and market impact include:
- High project costs: The new power plant carries an estimated price tag of $33 billion, driven by a 66% surge in natural gas power plant construction costs over the past two years, according to BloombergNEF.
- Energy market pressures: Once operational, the plant and similar facilities will directly compete with export markets for domestic natural gas supplies.
- Consumer impact: Analysts project that this heightened demand could triple natural gas prices in several regions across the country.
Leave a Reply