Three AI data center campuses are being developed in Pennsylvania's Salem Township, with combined investments exceeding $22 billion and the potential to distribute $1.4 billion directly to over 200 local property owners. The projects represent a new model for how data center development can reshape rural economies, but they also highlight the tension between local economic benefits and broader questions about energy sustainability and grid reliability.

What Are These Three Data Center Projects?

The scale of development underway in lower Luzerne County is unprecedented for the region. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is building a multi-billion-dollar AI and cloud computing campus on a 1,200-acre site adjacent to the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station, a nuclear power plant near Berwick. In March 2024, Amazon purchased the Cumulus Data Center campus from Talen Energy for $650 million. In June 2025, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro announced that Amazon would expand this into a broader $20 billion statewide investment, making it the largest private-sector capital investment in Pennsylvania history.

Two additional projects are also moving forward. QTS Data Centers, backed by Blackstone, is developing a 1,700-acre campus with 12 buildings planned for phased construction beginning in late 2026. The 4-3 Glenbrook Group announced a third project, the "Salem 3 Data Center Campus," encompassing more than 4,000 acres with a proposed 39-building layout, an on-site power generation plant, and a closed-loop water system.

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How Much Money Is Flowing Into Local Communities?

The economic model behind these projects differs significantly from traditional corporate development. Rather than a single institutional buyer acquiring land, these projects involve aggregating property from dozens or hundreds of local landowners, with proceeds distributed directly throughout the community. The QTS project involved approximately 96 local landowners selling more than 1,700 acres for over $500 million in total land-sale proceeds. The proposed Salem 3 project would involve more than 200 participating property owners and an estimated $1.4 billion in potential land-sale proceeds.

Jack Sordoni, who leads 4-3 Consulting and 4-3 Glenbrook Group, noted that the QTS transaction has already demonstrated tangible community benefits. According to a survey of 78 Salem 2 landowners, nearly 80 percent remained within 25 miles of Salem Township after receiving their proceeds, and 83.3 percent said most of their proceeds remained invested or spent in Northeast Pennsylvania. The survey also found that 34.6 percent reported making charitable or church donations.

"The landowner wealth stays in the neighboring communities, while the data center and surrounding ecosystem attract literally thousands of jobs. This brings about certain economic vitality the likes of which may have never been seen before in the region," said Jack Sordoni, leader of 4-3 Consulting and 4-3 Glenbrook Group.

Jack Sordoni, Leader of 4-3 Consulting and 4-3 Glenbrook Group

Visible examples of this economic activity include the reopening of the Berwick Brewery, which was supported by proceeds from Salem 2 landowners. Beyond individual business reopenings, the survey documented broader patterns of home purchases, contractor hiring, local business investments, and family financial planning throughout the region.

What Jobs Will These Data Centers Create?

Data centers generate fewer direct jobs than traditional manufacturing facilities, but the positions they do create tend to be high-skilled and well-compensated. When fully constructed, the Salem Township Innovation Campus is anticipated to host up to 20 data centers and support approximately 1,000 permanent high-skilled tech jobs, alongside thousands of regional construction roles.

Permanent data center positions include technicians, engineers, operations managers, infrastructure specialists, and construction or project managers. Compensation ranges for comparable data center positions include data center engineering operations technicians earning $37 to $65 per hour, data center operations managers earning $78,400 to $137,300 annually, and critical infrastructure mechanical engineers earning $116,800 or more per year.

Beyond permanent positions, development on this scale requires a broad range of skilled trades and professional services during construction, including electricians, pipefitters, HVAC and mechanical contractors, equipment installers, carpenters, engineers, surveyors, environmental specialists, trucking and logistics providers, and inspection and compliance professionals.

How Do Data Centers Affect the Power Grid and Clean Energy Goals?

The three Pennsylvania projects are strategically sited near the Susquehanna nuclear plant to leverage existing high-capacity electrical infrastructure. The Salem Township Innovation Campus utilizes clean energy supplied directly from the nuclear power plant through a power agreement lasting through 2042. The QTS project is similarly sited near existing high-capacity electrical and nuclear infrastructure.

However, the broader picture of data center energy demand reveals a significant challenge to national clean energy goals. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), data centers consumed roughly 415 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity in 2024, with projections to climb to around 945 TWh by 2030, more than doubling in just six years. AI-focused data centers are driving much of this growth, with electricity demand from AI data centers surging by 50 percent in a single year, roughly three times faster than the data center sector as a whole.

The energy intensity of AI systems is substantial. The IEA has compared a typical Google search, which uses about 0.3 watt-hours of electricity, to a single ChatGPT query, which uses roughly 2.9 watt-hours, nearly ten times as much. Multiply that difference across billions of daily queries, and the cumulative demand becomes clear.

Are Data Centers Keeping Coal Plants Open Longer?

One of the most tangible ways data centers are impacting clean energy goals is by keeping fossil fuel power plants running longer than planned. Across the United States, utilities facing surging data center demand have delayed or canceled dozens of coal plant retirements that were once considered settled decisions.

In Kansas and Missouri, utility Evergy has asked regulators for permission to delay retiring or converting roughly 2.8 gigawatts of coal capacity by at least five years, citing data center growth in the state. In Wyoming and Georgia, aging units at plants like the Robert W. Scherer Electric Generating Plant, one of the largest coal-fired facilities in North America, have had retirement dates pushed back.

This trend directly contradicts the climate commitments made by major technology companies. Microsoft disclosed that its total greenhouse gas emissions rose 25 percent year-over-year, driven primarily by data center construction and expanded electricity use. Google reported a 25 percent increase in supply-chain-related emissions, and Amazon logged a 34 percent rise in Scope 2 emissions.

What Questions Remain Unanswered About Data Centers?

Despite the economic benefits and energy infrastructure advantages of the Pennsylvania projects, significant uncertainties remain about the broader impacts of data center development. One Arkansas observer noted that facts about data center impacts are "hard or impossible to obtain," and the issues are so complex that average residents struggle to understand how data centers will affect them.

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Key areas of uncertainty include the following:

• Electricity Rate Impacts: Power contracts between data centers and utilities are covered by non-disclosure agreements, making it difficult for the public to assess how data center electricity demand will affect residential electric bills. Even without NDAs, the rate-determination process involves so many variables that impacts are difficult to predict.
• Environmental Monitoring: Baseline noise, air quality, and humidity studies should be conducted before construction begins so that impacts can be measured against clear benchmarks. Regulations should specify remedies if pollution or noise becomes excessive.
• Long-Term Technology Viability: How long today's data center designs will remain useful is an open question as AI technology evolves, raising questions about whether the infrastructure investments will provide lasting regional benefits.
• Water and Cooling Systems: While the Pennsylvania projects use closed-loop cooling systems to minimize local water usage, the cumulative water demands of multiple large data centers in a region remain a concern for long-term sustainability.

Steps to Ensure Data Center Development Benefits Communities

As data center projects move forward, several regulatory and oversight measures can help ensure that development benefits local communities while protecting residents and ratepayers:

• Conduct Baseline Environmental Studies: Before construction begins, establish baseline measurements for noise, air quality, and humidity. Use these benchmarks to monitor impacts during operation and trigger remedies if thresholds are exceeded.
• Implement Lighting Standards: Require exterior lights to be "full cutoff" downward-facing fixtures with warm-toned bulbs to minimize light pollution for neighboring residents.
• Increase Transparency on Power Contracts: Work with utilities to disclose more information about how data center power agreements affect residential electricity rates, or establish independent verification processes to assess rate impacts.
• Pause New Applications Pending Review: Consider a temporary pause on new hyperscale data center applications beyond approved projects while the approval process is studied more carefully to ensure adequate understanding of complex issues.
• Require Infrastructure Cost Sharing: Ensure that data center developers contribute substantially to the cost of new power generation and transmission infrastructure needed to serve their facilities, rather than socializing those costs across all ratepayers.

The Pennsylvania projects demonstrate that data center development can deliver significant economic benefits to rural communities through direct landowner payments and job creation. However, the broader energy and environmental implications of the data center boom remain incompletely understood. As more projects move forward, the combination of transparent baseline studies, clear regulatory standards, and independent verification will be essential to ensuring that communities can assess whether the benefits justify the infrastructure demands.