A former aluminum smelter site in Hancock County is set to be repurposed for large-scale digital infrastructure after TeraWulf Inc. announced it has acquired the property as part of a broader expansion into Kentucky and Maryland.
According to a release from the company, TeraWulf has acquired the former Century Aluminum facility in Hawesville, a brownfield industrial site that includes more than 250 buildable acres and access to significant existing power infrastructure. The company said the Kentucky site has approximately 480 megawatts of existing power availability, with the potential to expand over time, and is expected to be developed in phases to support future data center operations.
County officials said discussions about repurposing the site have been ongoing since Century Aluminum idled the smelter in 2022.
“We are aware of the acquisition and anticipate future discussions that will provide greater clarity on upcoming plans,” Judge-Executive Johnny Roberts said. “We have had multiple conversations advocating for a smelter restart; however, there was no appetite from Century Aluminum at that point, as management indicated that current business variables would not support such a decision. As a result, Century decided to repurpose the facility. We expect to gain better context in the near future.”
Mike Baker, director of the Hancock County Industrial Foundation, said the local leaders want to avoid leaving a dormant industrial site in the community.
“Our primary objective when Century shut the smelter down was to see the property repurposed,” Baker said. “An old shut-down smelter is not a very attractive site in your community after a few years.”
Baker cautioned that details remain limited at this stage.
“We don’t have a lot of details beyond [the release], but from the County’s perspective, we’re hopeful to learn more about the project in the coming days and weeks, and we’re excited that the property is being repurposed and put to use,” Baker said.
While no job numbers have been announced, Baker said similar data center projects typically employ between 50 and 100 people, depending on size, and would represent an improvement over a vacant site.
TeraWulf said redevelopment of the Hawesville site is expected to provide local economic benefits, including construction jobs, long-term skilled employment, workforce training, and an expanded tax base.
Baker noted that one advantage of the site is its existing power capacity, which was previously used by the smelter.
“It’s our understanding they’ll have access to the megawatts that the smelter would have used if it restarted,” Baker said. “That power is already available here, which makes the site attractive compared to other communities that have to find new power sources for large projects.”
The company said the Hawesville site includes multiple high-voltage transmission lines, an energized on-site substation, and a direct connection to the regional transmission network. Power for the facility would be supplied through existing arrangements tied to the former smelter’s operations.
Baker said TeraWulf has expressed interest in holding a town hall meeting to explain the project and answer questions from residents once more information is available.
Roberts said the County remains hopeful the redevelopment will help offset jobs lost when the smelter was idled.
“Obviously, we want to replace some of the jobs we lost,” he said. “We’re hopeful that the conversation goes where we want it to.”
TeraWulf said the Kentucky acquisition is part of a larger expansion that adds approximately 1.5 gigawatts of capacity to its portfolio and supports the company’s long-term strategy of developing energy-advantaged data infrastructure across the country.
