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Called the largest private sector investment in Pennsylvania history by Gov. Josh Shapiro. FERC rejected Amazon’s request for direct power connection capacity increase. Expected to create 1,250 permanent jobs and thousands of construction jobs.
| Investment | $20.0B |
| Power Capacity | 960 MW |
| Location | Salem Township and Falls Township, Luzerne County and Bucks County, Pennsylvania |
| Status | Under Construction |
project overview
Called the largest private sector investment in Pennsylvania history by Gov. Josh Shapiro. FERC rejected Amazon’s request for direct power connection capacity increase. Expected to create 1,250 permanent jobs and thousands of construction jobs.
location and scale
| Location | Salem Township and Falls Township, Luzerne County and Bucks County, Pennsylvania |
| Region | Northeastern Pennsylvania |
| Status | Under Construction |
| Total Investment | $20.0B |
| Power Capacity | 960 MW |
| Total Area | 0 sq ft |
key stakeholders
| Sponsors | Amazon Web Services, Amazon |
| Operators | Amazon Web Services |
investment breakdown
The $20.0 billion investment is distributed across multiple components:
| Component | Amount | Percentage |
| IT Equipment (GPUs, servers, networking) | $13.0B | 65% |
| Building and Construction | $4.0B | 20% |
| Power Infrastructure | $2.0B | 10% |
| Other (cooling, security, land) | $1.0B | 5% |
equipment refresh cycles
IT equipment typically requires replacement every 3-5 years, meaning:
- Initial deployment: $13.0B
- 3-year refresh: Additional $10.4B estimated
- Total over 10 years: $32.5B in equipment
infrastructure requirements
power capacity
The facility requires 960 MW of power capacity:
| Total Power Capacity | 960 MW |
| Equivalent Homes Powered | 800,000 |
| Annual Energy Consumption | 8,409 GWh/year |
| Renewable Energy | Yes - committed to renewable sources |
sustainability and cooling
| Cooling Technology | Air cooling systems |
| Renewable Energy | Yes - renewable energy integration |
Salem Township data center draws electricity from Susquehanna Steam Electric Station nuclear power plant. Talen Energy sold 960MW nuclear-powered data center campus to Amazon for $650 million. Falls Township initially draws from electrical grid.
construction timeline
| Announced | 2025-06-09 |
| Construction Start | 2025 |
| Expected Completion | 2028 |
development phases
| Phase | Description | Completion |
| Phase 1 | Initial construction of 2 of 15 data centers at Salem Township | 2027 |
economic impact analysis
job creation
| Peak Construction Jobs | 40,000 |
| Permanent Operations Jobs | 192 |
| Average Salary (estimated) | 120,000 |
economic multiplier effects
The project’s total economic impact extends beyond direct investment:
| Direct Investment | $20.0B |
| Total Economic Impact (2.5x multiplier) | $50.0B |
| Estimated Annual Tax Revenue | $100M |
| 30-Year Tax Revenue | $3.0B |
regional benefits
The project brings significant benefits to Pennsylvania:
- Supply chain development: Local suppliers for construction materials, equipment, and services
- Infrastructure investment: Improved power grid, roads, and telecommunications
- Technology ecosystem: Attracts related tech companies and talent
- Educational partnerships: Training programs and university collaborations
- Real estate development: Increased commercial and residential development
technical specifications
workload types
| Workload Type | Description |
| HYPERSCALE | Large-scale cloud computing and storage |
| CLOUD | Public cloud services and platforms |
| AI-ML | Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning training and inference |
ai/ml capabilities
This facility is specifically designed for AI/ML workloads with:
- High-density GPU computing: NVIDIA H100, H200, or GB200 GPUs
- Advanced cooling: Direct-to-chip liquid cooling for high power densities
- High-speed networking: 400G/800G Ethernet or InfiniBious InfiniBand
- Massive storage: Multi-exabyte storage capacity for training data
- Low-latency architecture: Optimized for distributed training workloads
rack density and power
| Rack Power Density | 30-100+ kW per rack (AI-optimized) |
| Cooling Technology | Direct liquid cooling (DLC) / Immersion cooling |
| PUE Target | 1.1 - 1.3 (industry leading) |
strategic importance
competitive positioning
This mega-project represents a strategic investment by Amazon Web Services, Amazon to:
- AI Leadership: Establish dominance in AI infrastructure and capabilities
- Compute Capacity: Scale compute resources for next-generation AI models
- Competitive Response: Match or exceed competitor AI infrastructure investments
- Cloud Expansion: Grow public cloud market share and regional presence
- Customer Proximity: Reduce latency for regional enterprise customers
- Service Diversity: Enable new services requiring massive compute resources
national infrastructure significance
As a mega-project (>$10B investment), this facility:
- Represents a major commitment to US technology infrastructure
- Contributes to national AI competitiveness and security
- Demonstrates Pennsylvania’s emergence as a datacenter hub
- Sets new standards for scale and efficiency in datacenter design
regional integration
Pennsylvania datacenter ecosystem
This project integrates into Pennsylvania’s growing datacenter infrastructure:
- Power grid integration: Connection to regional transmission infrastructure
- Fiber connectivity: Access to major internet backbone routes
- Skilled workforce: Leverage regional technical talent and training programs
- Supply chain: Integration with local construction and equipment suppliers
community relations
Large-scale datacenter projects require strong community partnerships:
- Local hiring commitments: Priority hiring for construction and operations roles
- Educational partnerships: STEM programs and technical training initiatives
- Infrastructure improvements: Road, water, and utility infrastructure upgrades
- Tax revenue sharing: Property tax and incentive agreements with local governments
Luzerne County and Bucks County impact
The project specifically impacts Luzerne County and Bucks County through:
- Direct property tax revenue and economic development incentives
- Increased demand for housing, retail, and professional services
- Enhanced infrastructure that benefits broader community
- Recognition as a technology and innovation center
stakeholder analysis
project sponsors
Amazon Web Services | Amazon
The sponsoring organizations bring complementary capabilities:
- Amazon Web Services: Cloud infrastructure and e-commerce
- Amazon: Cloud infrastructure and e-commerce
operators and tenants
Primary Operators: Amazon Web Services
The operators manage day-to-day facility operations including power, cooling, security, and network management.
sources and references
- Amazon will spend $20B on data centers in Pennsylvania - Spotlight PA (2025-06-09) - https://www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/06/amazon-data-centers-pennsylvania-nuclear-power-investment/
- Amazon to spend $20 billion on data centers in Pennsylvania - CNBC (2025-06-09) - https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/09/amazon-to-spend-20-billion-on-data-centers-in-pennsylvania-including-one-next-to-a-nuclear-power-plant.html
- AWS Eyes 960 MW for Newly Acquired Nuclear Power Data Center - Data Center Frontier (2024-03) - https://www.datacenterfrontier.com/hyperscale/article/33038288/aws-eyes-960-mw-for-newly-acquired-nuclear-power-data-center-in-pennsylvania
related pages
analysis current as of October 2025