The future of American nuclear is being built over a troubled past in southern Ohio, where the federal government enriched uranium into fuel for nuclear weapons. The Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Piketon, Ohio, once had 400 buildings, thousands of employees and consumed enough energy to power nearly 2 million homes. The site was closed in 2001 after the Cold War ended, and there was no domestic commercial uranium enrichment. The economic loss of the site led to a decrease in good-paying jobs and a significant drop in wages. Billion-dollar companies and federal officials are returning to southern Ohio with plans for data centers, pipelines, new uranium enrichment and a new generation of nuclear reactors to power the artificial intelligence boom. The demand is driving tech companies towards nuclear power, as nuclear doesn't produce carbon emissions or fluctuate with fuel prices.