Powering the Rust Belt: How the Working Families Tax Cut Act Is Transforming Ohio’s Energy Sector
Signed by President Donald Trump on July 4, 2025, the Working Family Tax Cuts (WFTCA) has rapidly spurred the renewal and transformation of the nation’s hollowed-out post-industrial regions. One particularly instructive example is Pike County, Ohio, where the redevelopment of the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant into a
modern 10-gigawatt data center supported by a corresponding 10 gigawatts of new generation capacity is slated to begin this year. The project, now known as the PORTS Technology Campus, shows how the WFTCA can convert legacy federal energy assets into platforms for job creation and national energy security.
A former uranium enrichment site, the Portsmouth Plant and the surrounding area fit nicely into WFTCA’s expanded definition of “nuclear communities” (§ 70512). A legacy nuclear-fuel-cycle site with existing infrastructure, a legacy workforce, and located in Southern Ohio, it can readily be repurposed for modern energy generation. Citing these factors, the Department of Energy identified
the site in April 2025 as one of 16 ideal locations for developing major artificial intelligence (AI) technology and data centers.
Yet this transformation did not occur in a vacuum, nor is its success inevitable. A comprehensive piece of federal legislation, the WFTCA, included provisions essential to securing Portsmouth Plant’s renewal. Specifically, the sections that
expanded publicly traded partnership treatment to include advanced nuclear generation helped draw private capital into major domestic energy projects like this one (§ 70524). Adding income from hydrogen storage, carbon capture, advanced nuclear, and geothermal energy to qualifying publicly traded partnership income makes it easier for large, capital-intensive energy projects to access private capital. This type of financing scheme is now converting a legacy federal energy site into a platform for generation and an accompanying data center development, thereby providing the funds for upgrades for advanced nuclear or carbon-management deployment that would not have otherwise qualified prior to the law’s enactment.
Of the Portsmouth Power project's 10-gigawatt generation capacity, natural gas is set to account for 9.2 gigawatts. Given the large natural gas generation, it is noteworthy that the WFTCA has two sections that are particularly relevant to this component. One of these provisions preserves and restructures carbon dioxide sequestration incentives that exclude prohibited foreign entities, and, thus, support reliable domestic generation (§ 70522). Another accompanying section recognizes intangible drilling and development costs in the adjusted financial statement of income calculation, thereby making domestic gas and geothermal development more economically attractive. For Portsmouth, these provisions support the domestic fuel and generation framework needed to power energy-intensive AI infrastructure at scale. This plant is now projected to become one of the
largest natural gas-powered generation centers in the world (§ 70523).
Finally, the WFTCA facilitates greater energy supply-chain discipline, which is especially necessary given the massive quantities of grid equipment and critical infrastructure that data centers require. The massive scale of the Portsmouth Plant will be supported by the changes in this legislation that secure its access to necessary materials. The WFTCA also encourages greater reliance on U.S.-produced components by restricting prohibited foreign-entity involvement and acknowledges the role of metallurgical coal used in steelmaking within the critical materials framework (§ 70514). The Act also imposes civil penalties for abusing de minimis entry privilege and repeals the commercial shipment exception. Low-value, lightly scrutinized import channels will thus become less financially advantageous, encouraging more secure domestic or allied supply chains (§ 70531). In fact, the Portsmouth Plant redevelopment is tied to the broader U.S.-Japan strategic investment framework, which directs Japanese-backed investment to American energy and industrial capacity, totaling $33 billion in Portsmouth, according to the Department of Commerce.
Practical Implications for Pike County
The rapid development of the Portsmouth Plant could deepen Ohio’s already burgeoning AI presence. To date, Ohio has the fifth-highest number of AI data centers in the nation, with over 200 sites as of March 2026 (Office of the Ohio Consumers’ Council, n.d.). The projected $4.2 billion in grid upgrades and new transmission lines is a major local and regional infrastructure benefit and will provide Pike County with stronger power infrastructure that could support future investment. These investments will also include new 765-kilovolt transmission lines and four substations.
The additional benefits from jobs related to the PORTS Technology Campus and associated investments promise to be another boon for the region. According to the Department of Commerce, the redevelopment at the Portsmouth Plant will create more than 10,000 expected construction jobs and some 2,000 operational jobs, in addition to tens of thousands of indirect jobs. SB Energy has also committed to a $40 million Community Benefits Agreement to support Pike County and the larger Southern Ohio region, which includes support for local schools, career training, and local businesses.
Of course, these benefits occur in the context of revitalizing a post-industrial region and putting to use a former power plant that has been shuttered for nearly a quarter of a century and part of which has been an Environmental Protection Agency designated Superfund site since 1989. The redevelopment promises to benefit the broader community and place it at the center of the burgeoning AI sector.
Reproducing Pike County’s Success Nationwide
As the redevelopment of the Portsmouth Plant demonstrates, WFTCA has helped create a policy framework capable of revitalizing economically distressed regions by prioritizing firm power, advanced nuclear communities, domestic energy supply chains, carbon capture, and large-scale infrastructure finance. That model can be replicated in post-industrial communities across the country where legacy infrastructure, skilled workforces, and strategic energy assets remain in place. Pike County shows that these sites need not be treated as remnants of a past industrial era; with the right policy structure, they can become platforms for new investment, job creation, grid reliability, and advanced energy deployment.