Past planning efforts and collaboration are leading to future energy and economic development in southern Ohio, particularly at the Portsmouth Site, according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Joel Bradburne, who recently served as the keynote speaker at the Appalachian Ohio State of the Region Conference at Ohio University. June 16, 2026
Office of Environmental Management
June 16, 2026
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Joel Bradburne, principal deputy assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management, delivers the keynote address at the Appalachian Ohio State of the Region Conference at Ohio University. He spoke about how partnerships are shaping the future of the Portsmouth Site.
ATHENS, Ohio — Past planning efforts and collaboration are leading to future energy and economic development in southern Ohio, particularly at the Portsmouth Site, according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Joel Bradburne, who recently served as the keynote speaker at the Appalachian Ohio State of the Region Conference at Ohio University.
“All this hard work has really paid off,” said Bradburne, principal deputy assistant secretary for the DOE Office of Environmental Management (EM). “The focus for today is really about enabling the future.”
The Portsmouth Site is decontaminating and demolishing legacy buildings to create space for future industry, such as artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and nuclear energy opportunities, helping to create generational jobs and build long-term economic vitality in the local community.
Joel Bradburne, principal deputy assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (EM), speaks to attendees at the 14th annual Appalachian Ohio State of the Region Conference at Ohio University. Bradburne spoke about the success of the PORTSFuture program and how it can serve as a model across the EM complex.
Bradburne’s experience planning efforts that have led to new energy initiatives in Ohio dates back more than 15 years. He previously served as the Portsmouth Site lead, Portsmouth Paducah Project Office (PPPO) deputy manager and then PPPO manager before ultimately taking his current position at EM headquarters in Washington, D.C.
As the Portsmouth Site lead, Bradburne worked with Ohio University and its PORTSFuture program, which began in 2010. Made possible by an EM grant, the program conducted a community-based engagement study through which stakeholders discussed remediation and made recommendations for the cleanup and future use of the site.
“The visions really came from the community members,” said Stephanie Howe, director of Energy Programs at the university’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service. “What the public preferred, number one, was a nuclear facility; number two was green energy production; third was industry or manufacturing; and the fourth was national research and development.”
That community feedback supported a baseline for all future planning and preparations to recruit for future industry and developing the next-generation workforce.
The PORTSFuture team worked with the local community reuse organization, Southern Ohio Diversification Initiative (SODI), and EM to bring the vision to life. Now, as Bradburne said, the hard work is seeing results.
Bradburne was referring to recent announcements from commercial entities intending to expand or locate on the Portsmouth Site. Centrus Energy Corp. plans to expand its uranium enrichment facility at the site. Oklo, a company designing small modular reactors, purchased a portion of available land at the site from SODI. And SB Energy, a SoftBank Group company, plans a public-private partnership to construct the world’s largest AI data center as part of a lease agreement at the site.
As PPPO manager, Bradburne applied his experience from the Portsmouth Site to the Paducah Site in Kentucky, contributing to recent announcements and agreements with General Matter and Global Laser Enrichment and the Paducah Site being chosen as a potential AI data center location.
His goal is to continue momentum, using the successful relationship between EM, Ohio University and SODI as a model to apply across the EM complex.
“The future is just incredibly bright,” Bradburne said. “It’s going to take you in the room to pick it up and drive it where it needs to go.”
-Contributor: Sarah Marko
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