June 09, 2025
Clayton Park/News-Journal; USA TODAY NETWORK
Amazon plans to invest $20 billion to build two data centers in Pennsylvania in Bucks and Luzerne Counties. The photo above shows the exterior of an Amazon fulfillment center in Florida.
Amazon plans to spend more than $20 billion to construct two data center campuses in Pennsylvania in what Gov. Josh Shapiro called "the largest private sector investment in the history of Pennsylvania."
The complexes will be built on sites in Falls Township, Bucks County, and Salem Township, Luzerne County, but Amazon said it also is considering several other Pennsylvania sites for data center complexes.
The campuses will be used for Amazon Web Services' cloud computing and artificial intelligence innovation, and are expected to produce more than 1,250 "high-paying, high-tech" jobs, according to the tech giant.
Amazon also will sponsor new workforce development efforts, including data center technician programs, fiber optic fusion splicing workshops and STEM opportunities for K-12 schools, Technical.ly reported.
This investment comes at the heels of Amazon's new 140,000-square-foot distribution center in Elmwood, which handles 20,000 to 25,000 packages from the Philadelphia area per day. Mayor Cherelle Parker called the center an "anchor" to the revitalization of Southwest Philly's commercial sectors.
The data center complex in Falls Township will be built at the Keystone Trade Center, a logistics campus that sits on a former U.S. Steel mill, the Associated Press reported.
Shapiro said he will ensure the permitting process to get the data campuses up and running is as smooth as possible. But the Luzerne County site — next to the Susquehanna Nuclear Power Plant — is facing federal scrutiny, the AP reported.
Amazon wants to connect the data center directly to power plant. The plant's majority owner, Talen Energy, announced last year that it had sold its data center to Amazon for $650 million. The deal provides Amazon with 960 megawatts of energy.
That deal has been held up by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the AP reported. Though creating a direct route to an energy supply can reduce the wait times for data centers, questions have been raised on the fairness of allowing corporations to buy direct access to energy that otherwise could power thousands of homes.
The mid-Atlantic region's power grid is facing unprecedented demand in part due to data centers coming online. Last month, this demand resulted in the federal government ordering the Eddystone Generating Station, a Delaware County power plant, to postpone its retirement until at least Aug. 28.
