SoftBank Invests $33 Billion to Build the Largest Power Plant in America

SadaNews Economy - The Japanese company "SoftBank" announced on Saturday its plans to build a massive natural gas power plant in Ohio, USA, to provide energy for artificial intelligence data centers.

"SoftBank," an investor in the technology sector, is a major supporter of "OpenAI," the developer of the "ChatGPT" program, and its CEO, Masayoshi Son, is a longtime ally of U.S. President Donald Trump.

The natural gas plant is part of a broader Japanese investment plan worth $550 billion in the United States, which Tokyo has agreed to in exchange for tariff reductions.

"SoftBank" clarified that the construction of the power plant, which will cost $33.3 billion and has a "vast" production capacity of 9.2 gigawatts, will take place at a site in Portsmouth operated by the U.S. Department of Energy.

During a ceremony held in Ohio to announce the project, Son stated, "I believe this plant is bigger than any other power station in the world." He added, "Certainly, this is the largest energy generation project at a single site, at least in the United States." He explained that "the goal is to develop the smartest intelligence in the world."

The U.S. Department of Energy stated in a press release that the gas-fired power plant, with a capacity of 9.2 gigawatts, is part of a comprehensive plan to supply the data centers with a total capacity of 10 gigawatts.

The statement continued: "The Portsmouth site, which was a cornerstone of U.S. national security during the Cold War—where uranium was enriched for national defense purposes—is now being converted to help the United States win the artificial intelligence race."

On Saturday, "SoftBank" announced the formation of an alliance with major U.S. and Japanese companies to assist in building the plant and developing artificial intelligence infrastructure in Ohio.

Data centers capable of training and operating chatbots, image generators, and other artificial intelligence tools are being built on a large scale worldwide, as the investment boom in this rapidly evolving technology continues.

A study conducted last month showed that industrial investment rose by about one-third in 2025, thanks to investment in artificial intelligence and data centers in the United States.