Paducah AI Data Center Request for Offer RFO.docx

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY (DOE) OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT (EM)

COMMERCIAL AI & ENERGY GENERATION INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAM

REQUEST FOR OFFER (RFO) NUMBER: DE-FOA-0000000

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

COMMERCIAL AI & ENERGY GENERATION INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAM

REQUEST FOR OFFER (RFO) NUMBER:

DE-FOA-0000000

Submit any questions related to the RFO to Marcia Fultz at marcia.fultz@pppo.gov.

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The United States Department of Energy (the “Government” or “DOE”) is committed to maintaining and enhancing American leadership in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and energy generation to promote economic competitiveness, national security, and scientific advancement. Executive Order (EO) 14318, Accelerating Federal Permitting of Data Center Infrastructure; EO 14179, Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence; EO 14277, Advancing Artificial Intelligence Education for American Youth; EO 14154, Unleashing American Energy; and the AI Action Plan issued on July 23, 2025, direct agencies to leverage federal assets to support this objective. AI infrastructure, including data centers, is critical for AI training, AI inference, scientific research, and various essential services, while energy generation is critical for protecting the United States’ economic and national security and military preparedness by ensuring that an abundant supply of reliable energy is readily accessible.

DOE is issuing this Request for Offer (RFO) to solicit proposals from entities interested in entering into a long-term lease covering all or a portion of identified real property located at the former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant cleanup site (PGDP) in Western Kentucky.

Statutory authority for this program includes but is not limited to:

• The Atomic Energy Act of 1954, 42 U.S.C. 2011, et. seq., as amended, authorizes the Department of Energy to grant leases or easements to non-Federal entities for the use of real property.

· Section 3154 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1994 (Public Law 103-160; 42 U.S.C. 7256(c) to (f)), also known as the Hall Amendment, authorizes the Department to lease unneeded property located at departmental facilities to be closed or reconfigured.

Offerors should submit a proposal for entering into a long-term Lease Agreement with the DOE for all or a portion of identified real property located at the PGDP and identified in the Appendix A, Figure 1. Offers must be submitted in accordance with the deadlines on the cover page.

The detailed proposal should include designing, financing, permitting, developing, constructing, installing, owning, maintaining, operating, and decommissioning AI or energy generation infrastructure (the “Project”) including, but not limited to, data center facilities with specialized Information Technology (IT) equipment, associated cooling facilities, energy supply infrastructure (to include the potential for nuclear and geothermal technologies), transmission and storage infrastructure, and other ancillary facilities and equipment reasonably required for the installation, maintenance, operation, decommissioning, and site restoration/remediation of AI or energy generation infrastructure given the available real property described herein.

Offeror(s) may propose projects on all or a portion of this land, and the Government may consider multiple projects. The Government further anticipates that there may be multiple AI or energy generation infrastructure facilities, with each located on a different tract of the Property, and that the size of each tract of land will depend on the proposed AI or energy generation infrastructure technology to be deployed.

DOE will consider proposals that integrate innovative energy generation and storage technologies with the AI infrastructure, particularly nuclear technologies including small modular reactors (SMRs) or microreactors, enhanced geothermal systems (EGS), and cold underground thermal energy storage (Cold UTES). For proposals that provide for energy generation or storage, the Applicant shall be responsible for the Project’s interconnection with the electric utility provider. DOE is also interested in proposals that detail potential collaboration opportunities with DOE National Laboratories, Plants, and Sites.

Eligible Project configurations include Integrated AI Data Center and Energy Projects, Phased Integrated AI Data Center and Energy Projects, or Energy Infrastructure Projects. In all cases, Proposals should include new energy generation. See Section 3.D, Eligible Offerors and Project Configurations, for further details.

The Government is interested in proposals for rapid development of AI data center capacity to meet commercial market needs and of generation to power data center capacity. It understands that the generation may come online at a different time from the data center which is part of the same proposal or an affiliated proposal. For example, a first phase with a rapidly developed data center using grid power may be followed by a second phase with data center expansion and new generation.

Favorable consideration will be given to projects that propose new integrated AI infrastructure jointly with new nuclear energy generation.

Based on the quality of the offers, DOE reserves the right to select all, some, or none of the offers received in response to this RFO. If selected to participate in this program, offerors will receive notification from DOE to finalize an agreement.

2. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

A. LEASING INFORMATION

In accordance with and subject to the terms, requirements, and conditions of this RFO, the Government may qualify and select one or more Offeror(s) with whom to enter into Lease Agreement negotiations. An Offeror with whom the Government enters into a written and legally binding Lease Agreement is hereinafter referred to as a “Selectee”.

After selection, the Offeror(s) and the Government may negotiate the terms, conditions, agreements, plans, schedules, etc. to effectively implement the Offeror’s proposed development, use, management, operation, decommissioning, and site restoration/remediation of the Property in a manner that is acceptable to the Government.

The Government may enter into a Lease Agreement that may include the following lease periods:

i. An initial development period to establish project requirements, to complete regulatory and permitting requirements such as National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), and other applicable regulatory requirements, secure project financing, complete project design, order long lead-time items, and complete any other tasks required to begin construction of the AI or energy generation infrastructure facilities. In the event the proposed project includes energy generation infrastructure, the development period for the project should include the appropriate schedule to support permitting/approvals, such as utility interconnection agreements, as well as licensing of the energy generation assets, if required.

ii. Project construction. The lease period will be based on a timeline consistent with commercial best practices for constructing a project of the proposed type.

iii. Operation: An operational period will be defined based on the lifecycle rationale in the Offeror’s approach.

Required decommissioning, and site restoration/remediation is expected to occur during a negotiated period after the end/termination of the Lease Agreement and any renewal periods.

The Government’s objectives in issuing this RFO and potentially entering into a Lease Agreement for the Property include, but are not limited to, the following (collectively, the “Objectives”).

i. Enter into a Lease Agreement for the Property (or portion thereof) in accordance with DOE’s legal authorities and consistent with the terms documented in the RFO.

ii. Enter into a Lease Agreement for use of the Property in a manner consistent with the following AI infrastructure priorities and strategic goals:

a. Enhancing national AI computing capacity through secure, scalable, and energy-and water-efficient infrastructure, including innovative computing, cooling, and power delivery/control technologies for AI training and/or inference workloads.

b. Supporting DOE mission priorities in science, energy, research and development, and/or national security.

iii. Enter into a Lease Agreement for use of the Property in a manner consistent with the following energy infrastructure priorities and strategic goals:

a. Ensuring that an abundant supply of reliable energy is readily accessible.

b. Advancing the commercial readiness of domestic technologies for energy generation, distribution, and/or storage.

B. DELIVERABLES

0. Upon establishing a Lease Agreement, and within 30 days thereof, a Communications Plan between DOE and the Selectee to coordinate press releases and public announcements among other activities.

0. Prior to commencement of any construction, an Environmental Site Assessment will be completed to document the initial conditions of the leased land.

0. Proof of insurance for the Selectee and its contractors sufficient to protect DOE against all potential liability with respect to Selectee’s activities on the leased land.

0. Prior to the commencement of any construction, the Selectee must provide adequate prepayment, a surety bond, or equivalent financial assurance to cover decommissioning costs (i.e., the costs of removing infrastructure, restoring the leased land to its pre-lease condition (per DOE standards), and addressing any environmental liabilities). The bond amount and conditions will be determined by the Government based on the Project’s scope, environmental impact, and lease term.

0. Interface Agreements with the PGDP must be established for use of any site services. Access to site services will be dependent on availability of resources and all costs for services will be at full cost recovery via a funding agreement (e.g., Strategic Partnership Project or Cooperative Research and Development Agreement) between the PGDP and the Selectee.

C. DECOMMISSIONING

Decommissioning encompasses all activities to remove installed facilities and return the site to its original status (e.g., as a greenfield, brownfield, etc.). This includes removal of all facilities and structures. The Selectee must also ensure that qualified staff and adequate financial resources are available, that safety management programs remain in place as applicable (emergency preparedness, etc.), and that appropriate records are maintained.

D. NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT (NEPA)

DOE’s decision whether to execute a lease is subject to several environmental laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. § 4321, et seq.). While NEPA compliance is a federal agency responsibility and the ultimate decision remains with the federal agency, all Qualified Offerors will be required to assist in the timely and effective completion of the NEPA process in the manner most pertinent to their proposed Project. In accordance with section 2.3 of DOE’s new NEPA Implementing Procedures (available at DOE NEPA Implementing Procedures June 30 2025), DOE or a Qualified Offeror may prepare an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement and may choose to enter a third-party contracting arrangement wherein the Qualified Offeror(s) pays an environmental contractor to prepare the required NEPA document, and DOE directs the work of that environmental contractor. DOE must comply with NEPA prior to realty agreement execution, or if the NEPA process is not completed before realty agreement execution then the agreement shall be contingent on completion of the NEPA process.

As highlighted in Section 3.0 of DOE’s new NEPA implementing procedures, DOE will use all available means to improve the efficiency of its implementation of NEPA. DOE will determine the required level of NEPA review as soon as practicable after identifying that NEPA applies to a proposal. As part of this determination, DOE will consider whether a categorical exclusion is applicable, as described in section 5.0 of the DOE NEPA Implementing Procedures. If DOE cannot apply a categorical exclusion to the proposed action, DOE will evaluate the significance of the proposed action’s reasonably foreseeable effects consistent with Section 3.2 of DOE’s NEPA implementing procedures. (See Section 2.2, Determining the required level of NEPA review, for further information.)

DOE may use an early scoping process to help determine the required level of NEPA review. DOE may engage any applicant and other parties, as will be beneficial, in the early scoping process. An early scoping process may include, as appropriate to the proposal, steps such as: (1) preliminarily identifying the Federal agencies and other parties that will be involved and that have decisions to make related to the proposal; the range of reasonable alternatives and rationale for excluding certain alternatives from detailed analysis; the scope of environmental effects to be analyzed and rationale for excluding certain environmental effects from analysis; and the schedule, and (2) requesting input from state and local agencies, Tribal governments, industry groups, and the public.

DOE shall develop and modify, as appropriate, a schedule for preparation of any required environmental assessment or environmental impact statement that meets the requirements, including requirements concerning page limits and deadlines, in NEPA and DOE’s NEPA implementing procedures.

E. FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS

The Offeror(s) must provide the Government documented evidence demonstrating that the Offeror(s) has or will have all funds/financing necessary to accomplish and complete planning, design, permitting, construction, and operation of the AI or energy generation infrastructure facilities on or before the date of Lease Agreement execution, or as negotiated thereafter. This could include but is not limited to a corporate parent guarantee of credit facility, an appropriate financial or investment company guarantee of credit facility, audited company financial statements, or other evidence of adequate financial resources that is acceptable to the Government.

The Government may require the Selectee(s) to establish and maintain a decommissioning bond to manage the demolition of improvements installed by or for the Selectee(s) on the Property and restore the Property to the condition in which it existed on the date the Lease Agreement was executed, or as agreed by the Department, upon the expiration or termination of the Lease Agreement.

The Selectee(s) shall, at its sole expense, obtain any and all required permits and approvals and pay all required expenses and fees in connection with its development of the Project.

Should the Offeror wish to pursue financing from DOE’s Loan Programs Office (LPO), a description of the specific project scope to be covered by the LPO loan should be provided. Offerors that intend to seek LPO financing should contact LPO directly and specify how they plan to complete the project while remaining in compliance with the denial of double benefit rule. DOE may execute a conditional Lease Agreement with the Selectee(s), that is contingent on the finalization of a LPO agreement for a loan, if the success of the proposed project is dependent on LPO financing. For more information, see Appendix B.

F. DEVELOPMENT AND USE REQUIREMENTS

All development activities on the Property shall be in accordance with applicable Federal, State, and local laws, rules, regulations, and ordinances, including building codes, as they may be amended from time to time.

All development and construction on the Property shall be compatible with the plans, programs, and missions of the DOE site at which the Property is located. Development, construction and operation on the Property will be subject to DOE security requirements, based on location.

Relocation of existing improvements on the Property, if any, shall be at the Selectee’s sole cost and expense and will be subject to the Government’s consent and approval, which may be conditioned or denied. The Selectee(s) shall, at its sole cost and expense, erect a fence or boundary demarcation around the perimeter of the Property, as deemed necessary by the Government and of a type and kind approved by the Government. Such fence or boundary demarcation shall not prevent DOE from entering the Property in an emergency situation without prior notification to the Selectee(s).

Selectee(s) is responsible for preventing where possible, minimizing, and repairing soil erosion during the term of the Project. Further, Selectee must restore areas of erosion resulting from the construction and/or removal of improvements on the Property and the adjacent land impacted by the erosion.

Prior to the commencement of any construction, the Selectee(s) shall deliver to the Government payment or decommissioning bond in amounts and subject to conditions deemed acceptable to the Government, as described in Section 3.2.d.

All uses and activities on the Property shall be in compliance with all applicable Federal, State and local laws, rules, regulations, and ordinances.

The Property shall not be used or permitted to be used in any way or for any purpose except as expressly permitted by the Government and set forth in the Lease Agreement.

It’s anticipated that the lessee’s operation and construction will be coordinated with other site tenants to minimize impacts.

G. ELIGIBLE OFFERORS AND PROJECT CONFIGURATIONS

This RFO is open to a range of entities, including but not limited to:

a. Private Sector Companies: Established companies with demonstrated experience in developing, financing, constructing, operating, and maintaining infrastructure projects, particularly those related to data centers, energy generation, energy storage, and/or advanced computing facilities.

b. Data Center Operators and Developers: Companies with a proven track record in the design, build, and operation of large-scale data center facilities, with an understanding of the specific requirements for AI/compute-intensive workloads.

c. Energy Infrastructure Developers and Operators: Entities with expertise in developing and operating energy generation, transmission, and storage facilities, particularly those with experience in innovative and sustainable energy solutions.

d. Consortia and Partnerships: Collaborative teams comprised of multiple organizations that collectively possess the necessary expertise and capabilities across relevant domains such as data center operations, energy infrastructure, AI hardware/software, finance, and project development. Proposals developed by consortia/partnerships may potentially be better situated than individual companies to propose Projects that address the complex and multi-sector nature of this initiative. Consortia are encouraged to clearly define the roles and responsibilities of each member in their proposal.

DOE is seeking proposals for comprehensive AI data center and energy infrastructure projects. DOE will entertain a broad range of viable approaches from offerors that include new generation, however desired configurations are listed below.

a. Integrated AI Data Center and Energy Projects: Proposals that encompass both the AI data center facility and the associated energy infrastructure necessary to power it, beyond backup or emergency generation. These proposals are particularly encouraged to incorporate innovative energy generation and/or storage solutions, aligning with DOE’s commitment to reliable energy, and energy- and water-efficient operations. Offerors are encouraged to include in their Project Plan a comprehensive strategy to meet their energy needs with energy additions, including new generation and infrastructure to deliver that generation to the AI data center.

b. Phased Integrated AI Data Center and Energy Projects: Similar to Configuration A but with an initial phase of a data center that comes on quickly to meet near-term commercial market compute needs followed by later phase(s) of data center and generation to power it. Offerors should articulate a strategy for powering the AI data center facility in the initial phase, including investment in transmission and related infrastructure.

c. Energy Infrastructure Projects: Proposals focused specifically on developing innovative energy generation, transmission, or storage infrastructure. Such proposals are encouraged to demonstrate a link to and/or support for potential or planned AI infrastructure development, but it is not required.

Eligible Offerors are limited to those entities that are organized under the laws of the United States, its states, territories, or possessions; have majority domestic ownership and control; and have a physical place of business in the United States. All Eligible Offerors will be reviewed for risks of undue foreign influence prior to decision making by the Department (see Section 3.4.3). As part of the review, DOE may require that the Offeror(s) provide additional disclosures and information to inform the reviews. DOE will not review offers made by foreign persons or organizations. Determinations by the DOE that an entity is ineligible due to risk evaluations are unappealable.

H. ENTITY OF CONCERN PROHIBITION

Prohibition No Entity of Concern as defined in Section 10114 of Public Law 117-167 (42 USC 18912), may receive any grant, contract, cooperative agreement, or loan of $10 million or more in Department of Energy funds, including funds made available by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (Public Law 118-42).

In addition, for all Departmental activities authorized under Public Law 117-167, no Entity of Concern (including an individual that owns or controls, is owned or controlled by, or is under common ownership or control with an Entity of Concern) may receive DOE funds or perform work under any authorized activity, subject to certain penalties. See Section 10114 of Public Law 117-167 (42 USC 18912) and Division D, Title III, Section 310 of Division D of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024 (Pub. L. No. 118-42) for additional information.

By submitting an application to this RFO, the Offeror is certifying that neither the Offeror nor any of the Project participants qualify as Entities of Concern.

Definitions Entity of Concern is defined as in section 10114 of Public Law 117-167 (42 USC 18912), also known as the CHIPS and Science Act, as any entity, including a national, that is—

a. identified under section 1237(b) of the Strom Thurmond National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note; Public Law 105–261);

b. identified under section 1260H of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (10 U.S.C. 113 note; Public Law 116– 283);

c. on the Entity List maintained by the Bureau of Industry and Security of the Department of Commerce and set forth in Supplement No. 4 to part 744 of title 15, Code of Federal Regulations;

d. included in the list required by section 9(b)(3) of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 (Public Law 116–145; 134 Stat. 656); or

e. identified by the Secretary, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence and the applicable office that would provide, or is providing, covered support, as posing an unmanageable threat—

i. to the national security of the United States; or

ii. of theft or loss of United States intellectual property.

I. TRANSPARENCY OF FOREIGN CONNECTIONS

Offerors must provide a transparency of foreign connections disclosure and certification as it relates to the proposed Project participants. Include a separate disclosure for the Offeror and each proposed participant.

Disclosure Format: For the convenience of the entity providing the disclosure and certification a template is available at Transparency of Foreign Connections | Department of Energy, however, the entity is not required to use this specific format. If another format is used, the signatory must include the same substantive information, a signature, date, and the certification statement provided at Transparency of Foreign Connections | Department of Energy.

Disclosure exceptions by entity type:

a. U.S. National Laboratories and domestic government entities are not required to respond to the Transparency of Foreign Connections disclosure.

b. Institutions of higher education are only required to respond to items with an asterisk symbol (*).

c. The applicability of disclosure requirements is determined by the entity type. Regardless of whether the applicant is exempt, the subrecipient(s) must provide these disclosures unless the subrecipient is also exempt.

Offerors, regardless of entity type, must provide complete responses for Project team members that are not U.S. National Laboratories, domestic government entities, or institutions of higher education.

DOE reserves the right to request additional or clarifying information based on the information submitted.

Prior to selection and during the life of the lease, if circumstances change which impact the accuracy of the disclosures (e.g., foreign ownership or control changes), the Offeror must submit updated disclosures to DOE within fifteen (15) business days of learning of the changed circumstances.

J. DUE DILIGENCE REVIEW FOR RESEARCH, TECHNOLOGY AND ECONOMIC SECURITY

All proposals submitted to DOE are subject to a research, technology, and economic security (RTES) risk review to identify potential risks of undue foreign influence. As part of the review, DOE may contact the Offeror and/or proposed Project team members for additional information to inform the review. This review is conducted separately from the technical merit review. Selected Projects are subject to ongoing RTES reviews and monitoring during the life of the lease or easement. DOE may share information regarding the risks identified as part of the RTES due diligence review process or monitoring with other Federal agencies.

In the event an RTES risk is identified, DOE may require risk mitigation measures, including but not limited to, requiring that an individual or entity not participate in the Project. If significant risks are identified and cannot be sufficiently mitigated, DOE may elect to eliminate the Offeror from consideration or terminate the lease or easement.

DOE’s decision regarding a due diligence review is not appealable.

K. APPLICATION DATA

Applicants should include business sensitive data (e.g., commercial or financial information that is privileged or confidential), trade secrets, proprietary, or otherwise confidential information (e.g., information about cultural resources) in their application only to the extent such information is necessary to convey an understanding of the proposed project or to comply with a requirement in the RFA. For DOE to protect proprietary or otherwise sensitive information, the Applicant must also treat the information as confidential and properly mark it as described below.

Notice of Restriction on Disclosure and Use of Data:

Pages [list applicable pages] of this document may contain trade secrets, confidential, proprietary, or privileged information that is exempt from public disclosure. Such information shall be used or disclosed only for evaluation purposes. The Government may use or disclose any information that is not appropriately marked or otherwise restricted, regardless of source. [End of Notice]

The header and footer of every page of the application that contains confidential, proprietary, or privileged information must be marked as follows: “Contains Trade Secrets, Confidential, Proprietary, or Privileged Information Exempt from Public Disclosure.” In addition, each line or paragraph containing proprietary, privileged, or trade secret information must be clearly marked with double brackets or highlighting.

Failure to comply with these marking requirements may result in the disclosure of the unmarked information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) or otherwise. These protections do not apply to information that the Applicant has released publicly or is in the public domain. For additional information on DOE’s FOIA regulations, see 10 C.F.R. Part 1004.”

3. INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS

SAM.gov Registration: SAM registration is required in order to be eligible for selection.

Registration must remain active throughout the term of the Project.

Requirements before Submission:

SAM.gov Registration – can take up to 30 days

Effective January 1, 2020, the System for Award Management (SAM) is the central repository for common government-wide certifications and representations required of federal solicitation awardees. As registration in SAM is required for eligibility for a federal award and registration must be updated annually, Federal agencies use SAM information to comply with award requirements and avoid increased burden and costs of separate requests for such information, unless the awardee fails to meet a federal award requirement, or there is a need to make updates to their SAM registration for other purposes.

Applicants must have an active account with SAM.gov. This includes having a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). SAM.gov registration can take several weeks. Begin that process today.

To register, go to SAM.gov Entity Registration and click Get Started. On the same page, the Entity Registration Checklist also has information needed to register.

FedConnect – can take 48-72 hours Registering with FedConnect is fast and easy. Only individuals who are designated as Points of Contact in SAM.gov can create a new company account.

Interested parties are encouraged to click on the “Register to Receive Notifications” button in the middle of the page when viewing the opportunity. If that link is not found, click on the “Join” button in the lower right-hand corner of the screen. This will allow FedConnect to send Applicants any related notifications for this opportunity. Once an entity “joins,”, it will register the account as part of the “Response Team.”. Applications are submitted as Responses to the opportunity through the FedConnect Message Center. If an applicant experiences technical difficulties with a submission, the applicant should contact FedConnect Support for assistance.

This RFO is not for an acquisition of goods, services, or facilities for DOE consumption/use and as such, is not governed by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). This RFO supports a real estate transaction granting temporary use of DOE controlled property. DOE is opting to solicit responses to this RFO to inform a decision on granting one or more Lease Agreements on this Property, but DOE retains its right to grant use of this Property in any manner it deems appropriate, consistent with applicable laws and regulations.

In no event shall this RFO or any agreement arising as a result of this RFO require or otherwise obligate the DOE to purchase any service or product from or of the Project. The Government makes no representations regarding the Offeror’s ability to secure an agreement(s) for sale and purchase of the services or products arising directly or indirectly from the Project, Lease Agreement, or the Property.

Offeror(s) shall be responsible, at its own expense, for all costs associated with its proposal, including but not limited to, preparation costs, legal consulting, engineering, permitting, and compliance with applicable laws and regulations. DOE is not responsible for any costs associated with Offeror(s)’ proposals.

A. SUBMISSION OF RESPONSES

Offers should be submitted by e-mail no later than 4:00 p.m. EST to Marcia Fultz, PPPO Contracts and Procurement Manager at marcia.fultz@pppo.gov.

Submitted proposals shall be written in the English language and correspond with the Sections, Factors, and Subfactors listed in Section 3. Proposals should be submitted on 8.5 x 11-inch pages with margins no less than one inch on all sides and standard 12-point font using Microsoft Word and/or Adobe Systems Portable Document Format (PDF).

Technical Volume

The Technical Volume is limited to 50 pages plus listed attachments which do not count towards the 50-page limit. The response shall be single-spaced pages with no less than 1-inch margins and 12-point font, formatted to fit 8.5 inch-by 11-inch paper. All documents must be written in the English language. Submissions shall be in Microsoft Word or searchable Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF). The Technical Volume shall include the following sections as a one-file submittal with each of the following sections clearly labeled:

Business size.

Technical points of contact to include salutation, last name, first name, street address, city, state, zip code, telephone, electronic mail.

Administrative points of contact to include salutation, last name, first name, street address, city, state, zip code, telephone, electronic mail.

Date of submission.

Applicant(s) Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) Number(s). Table of Contents.

The proposal shall provide a description of the energy generation technology being pursued. Applicants shall include the current nature of the relationship between the Applicant(s) and the energy generation technology vendor (if the Applicant is not the proposed energy generation technology vendor), as well as an up-to-date status of the commercial availability for the pursued energy generation technology by that vendor (e.g. commercially available, first-of-a-kind deployment, final design, preliminary design, etc.). If an energy generation technology or vendor has not yet been selected for the Project, the Applicant should describe the proposed process and timeline for the selection of the energy generation technology and vendor.

Project Approach: A description of the planned approach for executing the proposed project, to include the total anticipated project cost. Applicants should include a description of the resources anticipated for the conduct of the Project and which resources and materials will be sourced domestically or abroad. Applicants should identify any anticipated shortcoming within the anticipated supply chain for the Project which could delay their deployment.

Schedule: A notional execution schedule should be included, showing sufficient maturity and resilience for a major construction project at an initial phase of development. The proposed schedule should include the anticipated durations for the (1) development, (2) construction, and (3) initial operations periods for the Project, for both the AI and energy generation infrastructure proposed, as appropriate. DOE expects that Applicant(s) will demonstrate an aggressive, yet achievable, timeline to successfully deploy the proposed projects, with the anticipated timeframes for the AI data center including six to 18 months for development, one to two years for construction, and 10 or more years for operations, and the anticipated timeframes for the energy generation infrastructure aligning with the commercial best practices for the technology proposed. For Integrated AI Data Center and Energy Projects, Applicant(s) should demonstrate that the energy generation infrastructure will be available concurrently with commencement of operations of the AI data center. For Phased Integrated AI Data Center and Energy Projects, Applicants should articulate a viable and robust strategy for powering the data center facility in the initial phases.

Milestones: The Applicant should include a list of key milestones for the proposed Project, which could be used to track the progress of the Project. If the Applicant has any gating criteria that need to be achieved prior to progressing beyond a certain point in the Project, these should be described.

Construction Plan: The Applicant should provide a description of each step of the proposed Project construction process. Elements of the Construction Plan could include: fully sourced or cited material and energy balance, including system simulation for processes, using industry standard software; unique equipment requirements; rights or licenses necessary to use processes proposed and acquisition status; project cost analysis including analysis based on minimum design specifications coupled to process flow diagrams and cost estimates; project management plan and use of tools, such as Gantt charts, Monte-Carlo and other variance analysis, resource-based scheduling, or other methods to assess and track progress; and contingency plans to address cost overruns and schedule slippage.

Regulatory Approvals/Licensing Strategy: Applicants should describe the Project’s approach to acquiring all necessary federal, state, and local permits for the Project, to include meeting NEPA and NHPA requirements, as well as any licensing required for the proposed energy generation technology. Applicants pursuing the deployment of a nuclear reactor may pursue licensing either through DOE authorization or the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), depending on the Project's specifics. The proposal must explicitly state which licensing authority the Applicant intends to utilize for regulatory approval of the nuclear reactor and why. To the extent applicable, Applicants should also describe their approach to filing with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) if the Project, or any part of the Project or transaction related to the Project, could be subject to CFIUS jurisdiction as described in 31 CFR Parts 800 and 31 CFR 802. Applicants should explain the status of any relevant existing or planned CFIUS filing to include timelines and outcomes, as applicable.

Power and Compute Efficiency: For proposals that include AI data center infrastructure, the Applicant should describe its approach to process maximal AI inference and/or training workloads for the proposed cooling and power load, discussing any relevant compute technologies and hardware or software innovations it plans to deploy. The project plan should describe how it intends to achieve efficient power delivery and responsive power control at the rack, server, and chip level, and it should address how power management impacts the resultant cooling needs of AI infrastructure. The project plan should describe frequency of updates for power and compute equipment. The project plan should describe a waste heat use/reuse plan, if applicable, including identifying any end users or partners.

Energy Reliability: The Applicant must include a detailed plan for ensuring continuous energy generation and backup power for the duration of the Project. This plan should specify the sources of energy, redundancy measures, and contingency protocols to maintain uninterrupted operations. The proposal must clearly articulate the proposed approach to acquire all necessary power until new generation is put into operation.

Utilities: The project plan should detail all utilities essential for successful execution, including but not limited to domestic water, sanitary sewer, electrical power, and telecommunications. Applicants will specify whether they intend to connect to existing site utility infrastructure, such as the site's domestic water or sanitary sewer systems, or if alternative provisions, like portable water sources or independent waste management, will be necessary. The plan will outline the proposed methods for securing each required utility, including any necessary permits, connections, or service agreements, and will address coordination efforts with site management to ensure timely and compliant utility access.

Interconnection: In the event the proposed Project requires a connection to the grid, the Applicant should describe its proposed approach to do so. This should include the Project’s plan for obtaining the necessary approvals and meeting any regulatory requirements for the interconnection, as well as the infrastructure improvements required to make the interconnection, if needed. Applicant(s) should include any interconnection pre-application information provided by the utility. This could include a preliminary indication of available capacity at nearby substations or distribution/transmission lines, general feasibility, and any anticipated system upgrades.

Grid Integration and Capital Efficiency: Applicant(s) are encouraged to consider the use of technologies and operational strategies that result in flexible electricity consumption of the AI data center in order to provide services to the local electricity grid (e.g. emergency demand reduction), make efficient use of existing or new electricity generation and distribution equipment, and minimize the broader impacts of the AI data center on local electricity costs. Additionally, if curtailment is required or agreed upon pursuant to local regulations or the utility interconnection agreement, a description of how that curtailment will be achieved should be included.

Subscription and Offtake Agreements: Applicants should include a description of how the proposed AI and energy generation infrastructure will be used and by whom, and the length of subscription/offtake compared to the anticipated lifetime for the AI data center and energy generation infrastructure. If the anticipated subscription/offtake for the energy generation infrastructure does not match the expected output either at initial operation or during anytime in the lifetime, a plan should be included on how new subscription/offtake will be obtained or an explanation be provided as to why the lack of subscription/offtake will not significantly affect the economics of the Project over its lifetime. Additionally, the applicant should provide a mitigation plan if a planned off-taker leaves the Project.

Water Efficiency and Usage: The Applicant should describe how it will incorporate water efficiency measures into each stage of the Project, including for the proposed cooling system, IT equipment, and any energy infrastructure. The project plan should identify water needs and usage in regard to onsite and/or municipal supply. The project plan should consider average annual water availability, address Project viability during periods of drought, and assess water efficiency based on both site and source (including water consumption in the production of electricity on or offsite) consumption.

Workforce Plan: The Applicant should describe its proposed plans for conducting a workforce needs assessment of the local workforce conditions and availability; identifying local education, workforce development, community-based, and labor entities that have the ability to recruit, train, and/or support the necessary workforce efforts for each phase of the project plan; and estimating the number of temporary and permanent jobs created from the Project (e.g. constructions, operations). DOE encourages Applicants to partner with State Workforce Agencies to conduct a gap analysis to identify the local labor supply needed to meet the labor demands.

Mitigation: The Applicant should describe its proposed approach to mitigating adverse impacts resulting from the construction, operation, and decommissioning of the Project. The Applicant’s approach to addressing adverse impacts should be clearly identified in the proposal as a “Mitigation Plan” and describe how the Applicant proposes to sequentially apply an avoid, mitigate, compensate framework to each identified adverse impact.

Risk Management: The Applicant should include a description of the team’s proposed approach to identify, analyze, track, and respond to perceived or realized risks associated with the proposed Project. Project risk events are uncertain future events that, if realized, could impact the success of the Project. At a minimum, include the initial identification of significant technical, management, Project acceptance or opposition, workforce availability, and other resource issues that have the potential to impede Project progress and strategies to minimize impacts from those issues.

Community Impact: The Applicant should describe its planned local outreach and engagement around the potential deployment of the AI data center and energy generation infrastructure on the DOE Site, to obtain any indications of local sentiment and to assess what risks to project execution will need to be managed. Applicants may want to consider innovative energy integration, community partnerships, or Tribal relationships / consultation processes. Applicants should describe how their proposal and/or teaming arrangements provide meaningful and/or substantial involvement of and/or benefits to one or more of these areas.

Security Plan: Offeror s) are required to submit a proposed Security Plan to mitigate potential cyber, physical, supply chain, and other security risks associated with the Project. As part of the Government’s evaluation of Proposals, DOE may contact the Applicant and/or proposed Project team members. for additional information about the proposed Security Plan. The Government anticipates working with Selectees after selections are made to refine the proposed Security Plan. The Government anticipates that the final Security Plan will be tailored to both the scope of activities proposed by Applicant and the security needs of the site, based on existing standards. Selected Projects are subject to ongoing security reviews and monitoring during the life of the lease or easement. In the event a security risk is identified, DOE may require additional risk mitigation measures, potentially to include amending the Security Plan. If significant risks are identified and cannot be sufficiently mitigated, DOE may elect to eliminate the Applicant from consideration or terminate the lease or easement.

i. current real estate market conditions for similarly situated property, and

ii. consideration of all relevant facts and circumstances that may influence the proposed consideration.

Subject to statutory authority to accept in-kind consideration, the Government may consider other forms of consideration (e.g., in-kind contributions, shared infrastructure access, etc.). If an Applicant’s Mitigation Plan relies on compensatory mitigation elsewhere on the DOE site to address unmitigated adverse impacts, the Applicant should also discuss how in-kind consideration will support those compensatory mitigation activities. Applicants may also propose environmental and ecological enhancement projects elsewhere on the DOE site as a form of in-kind consideration.

Applicants may discuss the possibility and implications of entering into a data or power services agreement with DOE/Providing computational resources to DOE or DOE- affiliated researchers/Other relevant collaboration model directly. Any such agreements are subject to statutory authority to accept in-kind consideration or will be contracted separately from any realty agreements entered into pursuant to this RFO. However, the proposed Project must be viable without any direct data services agreement/resource sharing agreement/financial contribution by DOE or any direct financial contribution from DOE.

Should an Applicant plan to pursue LPO financing for any portion of the Project, the Applicant should identify how the proposed consideration above is in compliance with LPO’s denial of double benefit rule.