The Ohio Department of Energy and Commerce announced it will be using land in Piketon to implement a 9.2-gigawatt natural gas generation facility that will power a 10-gigawatt data center, one of the largest in the world, according to a previous report by The Post.
SoftBank, a Japanese investment management company, is financing the operation, but holds no equity in the plant due to a U.S.-Japan deal made in 2025 that focused on development of “strategic U.S. sectors,” including energy and artificial intelligence.
SoftBank named the project “Portsmouth Consortium” and said the goal of the facility is to contribute to the large-scale power generation and AI infrastructure development in Piketon.
The site set for construction was previously used by the DOE as the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, or PORTS, which was used to enrich uranium for use in nuclear power plants, according to a previous report by The Post.
In 1952, PORTS began construction under the United States Enrichment Corporation, and in 2011, the property was returned to DOE for “decontamination and decommissioning,” and is now being cleaned up.
While many are excited about the job growth that the facility will bring, others have raised concerns regarding health issues the PORTS site poses.
Vina Colley, a former electrician at the PORTS facility and president of the Portsmouth/Piketon Residents for Environmental Safety and Security, has led some of those concerns after her experiences working at the site.
Colley began working at PORTS in 1980 with no preexisting health problems. After three years, her hair started falling out, and she began experiencing skin rashes. According to Colley, at the end of her time working at PORTS, she had three tumors, hyperthyroidism, congestive heart failure, neuropathy, beryllium disease, underwent a total hysterectomy and more.
Following that discovery, Colley worked to help PORTS workers gain medical compensation for the health defects they suffered from chemicals present, such as Plutonium.
“In 1999, we were able to take my documents and help the workers get the compensation bill, the EEOICPA in, and so that paid the workers $400,000 a medical card if you worked there between 1953 and 1992,” Colley said.
In addition, a 2022 study by epidemiologist Joseph Mangano found Pike County had the highest cancer incidence rate of all counties in Ohio and a mortality rate among the highest in the U.S.
The study indicated the gap between these rates and control counties used is likely too large to be attributed to socioeconomic factors, but rather to proximity to the PORTS plant.
According to Colley, the plant contaminated surrounding groundwater and soil with dangerous chemicals, exposing the community of Piketon.
“We were cleaning up contaminated radiation, PCB oil, with trichloroethylene, and then I'd ask my boss, ‘What do we do with this?” Colley said. “They would say, ‘Dump it down the drains.’ So all the drains go off to Little Beaver Creek, and then they have a pipe that goes straight to the side of the (Scioto) river.”
To improve water quality in Piketon, the Environmental Protection Agency and DOE have built three water treatment plants in Pike County.
EPA Public Information Officer, Anthony Chenault, said in an email that a new water treatment plant should be operating soon, alongside the other run by the EPA. Any questions regarding the third site should go to DOE.
Colley said the site needs to be cleaned up, and victims must be addressed before construction begins for the Portsmouth Consortium.
According to Paul Mobley, a former civil and operating engineer who trained in the U.S. Air Force, the Portsmouth Consortium will use water from the Scioto River for gas generation. Mobley also raised concerns about that contamination if it is not properly cleaned up.
“The main issue is Little Beaver Creek flows right into Big Beaver Creek, and Big Beaver Creek flows right into the Scioto River and the Scioto River flows the entire length of Scioto County,” Mobley said. “So you had chemicals and radioactive particles going in there.”
Ally Copple, head of communications at Softbank, said the company is taking steps to clean up the PORTS location.
“The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management is leading remediation at the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant,” Copple said in an email. “SB Energy has committed to paying for accelerated cleanup and remediation at the site.”
Copple also said the first phase of construction will begin later this year and further construction of the entire campus is expected to continue through 2032.
