ORR RFP AI Data Center Question and Answer Update 11-3-2025.pdf

Q# Question Answer

Last Updated: 11/3/2025

AI DATA CENTER & ENERGY GENERATION INFRASTRUCTURE

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL NO. DE-ORR-0037830

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

1 Is this a brand-new contract or is/was there an incumbent performing these services? If not brand new, could you please provide the current / previous contract number?

This is a Request for Proposals to lease land only from the Department of Energy for the private sector development. This is not a construction or service contract.

2 The documents (RFP and Sample Ground Lease) will not download. Is this something that can be sent via email?

Materials may be downloaded directly from the sam.gov website.

If you are having difficulties downloading the documents, please email either Ryan Fuesting at fuestingj@ornl.gov or Matt Reardon at matthew.reardon@emcbc.doe.gov

3 In the RFP, there is no indication of a page count on any of the Factors. Can you please provide the limits for each section, or for the narrative overall?

Each Section of the RFP should not exceed 10 pages.

Questions during Industry Day, October 15, 2025

4 Regarding the operational period, is there a limit to this timeframe? Upfront capital costs are significant, which makes allotting for sufficient amortization of financing, very important.

Yes, there are time limits as to the length of the ground lease agreement.

The proposal package should clearly identify and justify the requested ground lease term. For example, the base term of the ground lease agreement could be for an initial term of 20-30 years with several renewal options (5-10 years each) which would be considered by DOE.

5. Regarding lease duration, what about potential Mergers and Acquisitions? For example, is it permissible to develop a Data Center at Oak Ridge, operate it for some time and then sell it?

Yes, refer to the Draft ORNL Ground Lease Agreement, Clause 23 which states, in part, “Lessee shall neither transfer nor assign all or part of its interest in this Lease without the Government’s advance written consent. The Government’s consent to any transfer or assignment shall not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned, or unduly delayed. This does not require the Government’s approval of a change in ownership of the Lessee as a result of a stock (or limited liability company interest) purchase with no legal change in the leasing party, when Lessee, in its new form, remains in control of the assets and is the party performing the lease obligations.”

mailto:fuestingj@ornl.gov mailto:matthew.reardon@emcbc.doe.gov

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6. What involvement does DOE envision NRC will have in nuclear facility licensing for certified and non-certified designs?

Successful applicants will have to comply with the requirements of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission unless the project is proposed to be explicitly developed under DOE authorization where NRC involvement is not required. DOE authorization is only available for nuclear facilities that: (1) advance a DOE mission (e.g. R&D under section 31 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (AEA) or section 107(a) of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 (ERA), national security under section 91 of the AEA); (2) are under contract (including an other transactions agreement) with and for the account of DOE; and (3) are not subject to NRC licensing under section 202 of the ERA.

7. Will DOE establish a teaming list to help coalitions of companies together that have complementary offerings?

And if not, is this something that the East Tennessee Economic Council would consider pursuing?

DOE will post a list of companies that attended the Industry Day, 10/15/2025 on the sam.gov website.

8. In order to secure a lease for an AI data center, a new power generation would be necessary in the region. How can that be achieved if the generation is not in Oak Ridge?

DOE is looking forward to proposals that look creatively at the problem and find ways to phase in generation that can help meet the additional energy required by the data centers that might be developed here. We haven't prescribed exactly how that might get done, but we welcome proposals, recognizing that it could be on DOE land, it could be in a separate location.

9. Are there any special considerations that Offerors need to consider working within the National Historic Preservation footprint?

There are no specific requirements right now, but both parties would need to enter into direct negotiations with the signatory parties to the National Historic Preservation Act Section 106 Memorandum of Agreement for East Tennessee Technology Park interpretation and work through those issues.

10. What is the expected power requirement in megawatts? The RFP does not specify a desired data center and generation capacity. However, DOE welcomes ambitious applications that satisfy the objective of this RFP to maintain and enhance American leadership in AI and energy generation.

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11. Do planners expect there will be a need for bridging power prior to nuclear or other power coming online?

A1: Tennessee Valley Authority / Jake Todd: The question gets into the nuance of what the proposal will be. TVA is supporting DOE in their efforts with this RFP; we would take on the question of bridge power and primary power through the RFP process as we learn more about what power requirements are needed.

A2: Tennessee Valley Authority / Meryl Harris: TVA Economic Development will work with DOE to facilitate any transmission load request over five megawatts.

That study is initiated through a load questionnaire inquiry. The more that we understand about the load and the timing and characteristics, the more we can facilitate.

Note: Refer to attachment from TVA which has been included as an exhibit to the sam.gov website for this RFP. Feel free to contact Meryl Harris at mmharris0@tva.gov or Derrick Collins at dbcollins2@tva.gov directly.

12. What is the expected backup power or emergency power requirements for the facilities?

DOE will not direct or provide guidance on what the backup power or emergency power requirements for the facility/facilities proposed by the Offerors. TVA is a great partner in the region, and they have tremendous expertise in all things related to electrical power generation and moving that power around the Valley. TVA is a valuable resource to provide assistance in the development of proposed projects.

13. Are there preferred fuel sources other than natural gas for backup power requirements?

DOE: From the Department of Energy’s standpoint, we will not provide guidance or direction; using natural gas is an opportunity available to Offerors, but DOE has no preferred fuel source.

ENBRIDGE: We would be happy to provide natural gas or at least get natural gas to the site. What other fuel the Offeror would want to use for backup is up the Offeror.

14. Is DOE looking to lease the backup or emergency power generation or to purchase that backup power?

The Department of Energy is offering an opportunity to execute a ground lease; this is a real estate transaction.

mailto:mmharris0@tva.gov mailto:dbcollins2@tva.gov

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15. What does DOE believe are the top three attractions to a private sector investor to pursue a commercial focused data center on these lands?

A1: We think the locations are advantageous for development of data centers and power generation. You have sites here that have a nuclear footprint. If nuclear was your interest for the power source, there is opportunity. There is potential for doing projects that could collaborate with DOE sites, particularly Oak Ridge National Laboratory. This is a wonderful community, a supportive state and a local environment, TVA, Enbridge and other partners in the area that are looking forward to supporting the development.

A2: Oak Ridge is a very nuclear friendly community, a community that has a very strong educational network and pipeline for well qualified individuals from the elementary schools up to graduate level, as well as nuclear engineering at UT Knoxville and Tennessee Tech. Oak Ridge has an educational pipeline and a very strong community acceptance for new nuclear.

A3: From the Office of Science perspective, the site identified is just outside the gate of Oak Ridge National Laboratory; an opportunity to partner with incredible scientists, world renowned computer experts, and at one time the fastest computer in the world.

16. Will the Department of Energy consider the outright transfer or conveyance of the land, as it has done with some parcels historically, both at Oak Ridge and elsewhere across the country?

Site Area A: DOE will not transfer or convey the land by deed; the land is being offered for lease only.

Site Area B: The actual footprint of the K-25 building will remain government owned in perpetuity, since it is a National Park. However, the property surrounding the National Park could be conveyed provided it is not bifurcated.

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17. Can you provide a brief overview of 4.4.3, Return to Government, Paragraph C, “Other Forms of Consideration.” For example, in-kind contributions, shared infrastructure access, co-located services, etc.

RFP Offerors may discuss the possibility of entering into a data or power services agreement with DOE. However, the proposed project must be viable without any direct services agreement, etc. or financial contribution by DOE.

Section 3.5 of the RFP provides information describing collaboration with several key offices in DOE, namely, the Loan Programs Office (LPO) as described in Section 3.5.1 and the Grid Deployment Office (GDO) as described in Section 3.5.2 for support for certain kinds of developments. DOE is open to innovative proposals for collaborating on research.

18. Will Oak Ridge National Lab purchase computing services from any of the data centers, for either data center, rather, on either parcel?

For the purpose of this RFP, DOE is focused on the long-term ground lease. There are many partnership opportunities with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and we look forward to reviewing your proposals and exploring potential partnerships.

19. What is the maximum term the Department of Energy would consider? What are the government termination rights, and how would the end of term be handled?

A1: The term of the ground lease would depend upon what is proposed to be built on the site and expected lifespan of the proposed improvements. Offeror(s) are encouraged to review their project from a cost standpoint and the ability to secure financing.

Site Area A: At the end of the ground lease, the improvements would have to be removed from the site and the site returned to DOE to an “as is condition” at the time of lease execution. Your proposal should clearly define the requested term of the ground lease and the decommission at the end of the term of the ground lease. In the RFP, there is a sample of a ground lease which addresses the removal of the improvements and the timeline. The ownership will remain with the Department of Energy - Office of Science.

Site Area B: The footprint of the K 25 National Park must be maintained in federal ownership in perpetuity. However, the surrounding acreage we are willing to transfer if necessary.

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20. Oak Ridge National Laboratory has its own data center capacity needs as well as other federal agencies and the federal government. How will those needs be addressed and considered in this RFP process?

This initiative from the Department of Energy is primarily designed to provide commercial data center capacity. This is meant to meet the needs of the economy for compute. However, DOE and other agencies have needs for computational resources. It is possible that they could choose to do business with these data centers that are on DOE sites, including a data center developed at Oak Ridge Reservation.

21. Proposals from other sites announced that there's an expectation that successful offers can or will be encouraged to use the DOE Loan Programs Office. Is that same expectation or encouragement shared with the with Oak Ridge regarding the financial capacity?

Section 3.5 of the RFP provides information describing collaboration with several key offices in DOE, namely, the Loan Programs Office (LPO) as described in Section 3.5.1 and the Grid Deployment Office (GDO) as described in Section 3.5.2 for support for certain kinds of developments. DOE is open to innovative proposals for collaborating on research.

22. Can Offerors request to team with Oak Ridge National Lab in developing and submitting their proposal?

No. Offerors may request clarification through issuance of questions.

23. What restrictions, if any, would apply to the future tenants of the data center? Would the commercial entities seeking data center capacity be vetted by the Department of Energy or the Oak Ridge National Lab, or would it be solely up to the selected data center developer to lease the data center space?

This is government owned land, and as stated in the RFP, DOE would be allowing private sector to build, construct, and operate their building. There will be no restrictions as to who they can lease out space to, except for foreign entities as addressed in the RFP and the draft ground lease agreement.

DOE has not ruled out any particular use of the data center facilities that applicants may describe in their application. Note that this initiative is intended to maintain and enhance American leadership in AI and energy generation to promote economic competitiveness, national security, and scientific advancement, in accordance with the AI Action Plan and EOs 14318, 14179, 14277, 14154, and 14299. The data center facilities are intended for commercial use.

24. Are there any Foreign Ownership, Control or Influence (FOCI) restrictions that need to be addressed with the responses?

Yes, refer to Q&A 23 above.

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25. For small modular reactor integration, what permitting pathways or coordination with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission are available at Oak Ridge to accelerate potential deployment timelines to an 18–24-month timeframe?

DOE will not engage or participate in the NRC application process. However, for Site Area B, located at ETTP, the Office of Environmental Management has information and is open to sharing the geotechnical information, sampling information, groundwater, climatological, etc. with the selected Offeror.

26. As a service-disabled veteran-owned business, focused on SMR powered AI data centers, how does the Department of Energy prioritize or provide advantages for such partnerships in Oak Ridge? Would there be set asides or a streamlined process for veteran-led proposals under this RFP?

As stated in the RFP, Section 4.4 – Factors for Consideration and Section 5.0 – Basis of Offeror(s) Selection defines the selection process and evaluation criteria.

There are no “set asides” for veteran-led proposal under this RFP.

27. Will a list of all participants of the Virtual Meeting on 10-15 be compiled and made available to other participants? Will that list include contact data (e.g., e-mail addresses or cell phone numbers)?

The company list of attendees of Industry Day will be provided on the sam.gov website. Individual names and/or direct contact information will not be provided.

28. Will the DOE provide a list of all firms that submitted an RFI Response to the DOE RFI request, published in the Federal Register on April 7, 2025?

No.

Questions Received after Industry Day, October 15, 2025

29. Do you hope/expect that the Oak Ridge effort will align with the findings from the report (Recommendations on Powering Artificial Intelligence and Data Center Infrastructure’) that you published earlier this year? Is that a key requirement?

As stated in the RFP, refer to Section 1.0 – Executive Summary and Section 4.0 – Instructions to Offeror(s)/Selectee(s) for key proposal requirements. This initiative is intended to maintain and enhance American leadership in AI and energy generation to promote economic competitiveness, national security, and scientific advancement, in accordance with the AI Action Plan and EOs 14318, 14179, 14277, 14154, and 14299

30. What is the expected power capacity range for the AI data centers at each of the two Oak Ridge sites, and what existing grid infrastructure or power generation

The RFP does not specify a desired data center and generation capability. However, DOE welcomes ambitious applications that satisfy the objective of this RFP to maintain and enhance American leadership in AI and energy generation. See Appendix A, Depiction of the Property and Encumbrances, for more information.

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capabilities are already available on the reservation that would support these projects?

30. What unique advantages does Oak Ridge offer compared to the other three federal sites identified for AI data center development? Is the Department pursuing different approaches or priorities at each location, or are they all following the same RFP model?

The scope of this solicitation is specific to Oak Ridge location. Each DOE location chosen for AI and energy infrastructure solicitations has unique characteristics. The solicitations offered by each site are therefore distinct, though they share many elements. DOE recommends review the PowerPoint Presentation slides and the Industry Day presentation for specifics relating to Oak Ridge, and review of solicitations published by Idaho National Laboratory, Savannah River Site, and Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant to understand the differences between the four sites and solicitations