PIKETON, Ohio — A small nonprofit with just three staff members has quietly become a central player in turning the former Portsmouth uranium enrichment plant into a hub for new industry, with more than 350 acres of federal land now transferred into local hands.
The Southern Ohio Diversification Initiative, known as SODI, has received over 350 acres from the Portsmouth Site since its founding in 1998 — nearly 10% of the original site’s footprint, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. The land transfers are part of a broader push to convert the Cold War-era gaseous diffusion plant into what federal officials are calling an American Energy Hub, anchored by more than $33 billion in planned investment.
Earlier this year, SoftBank and AEP Ohio announced a public-private partnership to redevelop DOE land, modernize energy infrastructure and build advanced computing capacity in southern Ohio, according to the Department of Energy.
“The location of the Portsmouth Site was originally chosen for its secluded, rural nature and proximity to resources and infrastructure needed for industry,” Portsmouth Paducah Project Office Strategic Planner Greg Simonton said in a statement. “These same features are an asset in reindustrialization as the site still contains infrastructure beneficial to industry. SODI has been key in recognizing and promoting the site to industry partners and creating interest in reindustrialization.”
SODI operates with a staff of three and a volunteer board of 15 local leaders who meet monthly to weigh community needs and potential projects, the release said. With help from Ohio University’s PORTSFuture program, the nonprofit built its recruitment plans around community feedback after uranium enrichment ended at the site.
“We have known since the site ended uranium enrichment that the desire of the community is for the site to be cleaned up and made available for new industry,” SODI Legal Counsel Kevin Shoemaker said in a statement. “There were years of reaching out to developers to tell them about the benefits of building at the Portsmouth Site both for its valuable infrastructure and its capable workforce before it all started to come together. Now people are reaching out to us because the value of the site is well known.”
SODI Executive Director Steve Shepherd said the organization has already invested millions of dollars across the four counties surrounding the site.
“We have developed industrial parks, a GIS system, workforce training programs, a business incubator, and an entrepreneur loan fund to improve the quality of life for Jackson, Pike, Ross and Scioto counties through economic diversification, development of underutilized land and facilities on the Portsmouth Site, and continued support of local industry,” Shepherd said in a statement.
According to the Department of Energy, SODI’s funding comes through two channels: asset recovery, in which surplus site material not needed elsewhere in the DOE system is donated, resold or recycled locally, and property transfers, in which federal land is evaluated and, with board approval, sold to industry for reindustrialization.
“With the help of SODI, the Portsmouth Site is transforming to create space for a new American Energy Hub, new jobs for generations to come and economic vitality in the local community,” Simonton said.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the U.S. Department of Energy.
