Fluor Corp.’s Advanced Technologies business. has been tapped to provide engineering, master planning and preconstruction services for a planned 480 MW data center campus in north-central Kentucky at an estimated cost of $3 billion to $4 billion.
Irving, Texas-based Fluor has signed a limited notice to proceed with TeraWulf, Inc., a cryptocurrency and data infrastructure company that plans to rebuild the decommissioned Century Aluminum smelter in Hawesville, Kentucky, as a data center.
The agreement allows work to begin while the companies finalize final engineering, procurement and construction paperwork, according to Fluor, which plans to lead the project from its North American data center execution center in Greenville, S.C. Construction on the 790-acre former industrial site is scheduled to begin later this year and be completed in 2027.
“The site includes more than 250 buildable acres for IT capacity and offers immediate access to robust electrical infrastructure, including multiple high-voltage transmission lines, an on-site energy substation and a direct connection to the regional transmission grid,” TeraWulf said in a press release. The company said the campus is being designed for long-term data center leases of 10 to 15 years or more.
Construction of the project’s low-profile one- and two-story modular buildings is expected to occur in phases. Some existing structures will be reused, while the cooling tower and old aluminum smelter infrastructure will be demolished, TeraWulf said.
Nearby residents have expressed concerns about water use, noise and a lack of transparency in the project, according to local news reports. A petition on Change.org seeking a pause in the project garnered 1,070 signatures. The petition notes that 600 jobs were lost when the smelter was idled in 2022 and states that “residents are being asked to accept the long-term impacts: increased energy demand, infrastructure strain and environmental risk, without clear and binding guarantees that the project will replace these job losses.”
In response to these objections, TeraWulf said it plans to use advanced cooling technology to keep operating sound levels below 55 dBA, roughly equivalent to a normal conversation and below local limits. Noise is expected to be inaudible at the property line.
The company said it will use the site’s existing transmission infrastructure to avoid the need to build new utilities, adding that the center will use a sealed, closed-loop cooling system that requires minimal water and does not consume or dump water during normal operations. Heat will be dissipated through air-to-fluid exchangers, eliminating the need for evaporative or open-loop cooling towers. The company has said the Ohio River will not be used as a water source for the project.
TeraWulf said it selected the Hawseville site because it is within 300 miles of several Midwestern metropolitan areas, has access to cost-competitive wholesale power and existing industrial infrastructure at the site. Flour said it will recognize its share of the undisclosed contract value in the first quarter.
