TeraWulf has selected Fluor Corporation to provide early-stage services for a massive data center project in Kentucky, marking another major step in the firm’s expansion into high-demand digital infrastructure.
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The Irving, Texas-based contractor received a limited notice to proceed for master planning and preconstruction work on a 480-megawatt campus in Hawesville. The project is being developed by TeraWulf Inc., which is investing between $3 billion and $4 billion to transform a former aluminum smelter site into a large-scale data hub.
The project represents a significant brownfield redevelopment effort, repurposing an industrial site with more than 250 acres of buildable land and immediate access to substantial power capacity. The location’s proximity to major Midwest metropolitan areas is expected to provide low-latency connectivity, a key advantage for hyperscale and high-performance computing operations.
TeraWulf previously announced its acquisition of the Hawesville site earlier this year, emphasizing its existing infrastructure and energy availability as critical factors in accelerating development timelines. The company is targeting completion of the campus by the second half of 2027.
Fluor’s role under the limited notice to proceed allows it to begin early engineering and planning work while final project details are refined. The company’s North American Data Center Execution Hub in Greenville, South Carolina, will lead the effort.
“TeraWulf values Fluor’s ability to deliver quality and safety without sacrificing speed,” John Palmer, senior vice president for advanced technologies at Fluor, said in the release. “Our world class data center team is ready to support this strategic project through disciplined, end-to-end project delivery.”
The award aligns with Fluor’s broader push into the rapidly expanding data center construction market, which has become a major growth driver for contractors amid rising demand for cloud computing, AI infrastructure and energy-intensive digital services.
Company leadership has repeatedly pointed to the sector as a key opportunity in recent earnings discussions. CEO Jim Breuer noted that growth in data centers is also expected to spur related investments in power infrastructure, including nuclear energy projects.
Breuer added that new contract awards in 2026 are anticipated to be “significantly higher than in 2025,” signaling strong momentum across Fluor’s project pipeline.
The Kentucky development underscores a growing industry trend of converting legacy industrial sites into data centers, leveraging existing power access and infrastructure to meet the escalating demands of digital economies while reducing greenfield development challenges.
The Hawesville project reflects a broader shift in the data center industry toward energy-first site selection, where access to reliable, large-scale power often outweighs traditional real estate considerations. With 480 MW of available capacity, the site positions TeraWulf to support energy-intensive workloads such as artificial intelligence training and cryptocurrency operations.
Additionally, brownfield conversions like this one are increasingly attractive due to faster permitting timelines, existing grid connections and reduced environmental disruption compared to greenfield builds.
For Fluor, the project strengthens its foothold in a sector that is reshaping construction priorities across North America. As digital infrastructure demand continues to surge, contractors with specialized data center capabilities are expected to see sustained growth opportunities tied not only to facilities themselves, but also to supporting energy and utility networks.
Originally reported by Sebastian Obando, Reporter in Construction Dive.
