Pennsylvania industrial sites transition from coal to AI and natural gas energy hubs

Major industrial redevelopment projects are transforming former coal-fired power plant sites in Pennsylvania into high-tech energy and data hubs.

At the Homer City Generation site in Indiana County, construction is underway for the largest natural gas-powered plant currently being built in the United States. The project has employed over 1,800 direct-hire tradespeople and skilled contractors from nine local union organizations, with the workforce expected to reach 2,000 by New Year’s Day. Over the project's lifespan, the company anticipates creating more than 10,000 construction jobs and approximately 1,000 permanent positions.

In Beaver County, Aligned Data Centers has broken ground on ‘Project Phoenix,’ a $10 billion, 2-gigawatt artificial intelligence campus. The 660-acre site is being developed on the footprint of the former Bruce Mansfield coal-fired plant, which ceased operations in 2019. The complex will consist of three buildings designed to meet the growing energy demands of artificial intelligence technology.