The investment will create at least 1,250 high-paying, high-tech jobs. Salem Twp. in Luzerne County and Falls Twp. in Bucks County are the first communities identified as sites for the future campuses. Multiple additional Pennsylvania communities are under consideration.
“Pennsylvania is competing again — and I’m proud to announce that with Amazon’s commitment … we have secured the largest private-sector investment in the history of Pennsylvania,” Shapiro said during a press conference at the Jackson Mansion in Berwick, located a few blocks from the Salem Twp. border.
Amazon had previously announced plans to build a series of data centers near Talen Energy’s nuclear power plant in Salem Twp., having bought hundreds of acres of land around the power plant, and Talen Energy had sought approval to increase the amount of power the plant would directly supply to Amazon for the data centers.
However, members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission voted 2-1 against the proposal in November after a handful of electric utilities filed a complaint with the commission, asking it to hold a hearing to scrutinize Talen’s interconnection service agreement with Amazon or deny the energy deal altogether.
They had claimed Talen, which operates the power plant via its subsidiary Susquehanna Nuclear LLC, and Amazon would benefit by using the multi-state power grid without paying usual transmission fees and that $140 million in costs could be shifted to average ratepayers.
Still, officials on Monday appeared confident in the plan to establish a data center campus in Salem Twp .
“This initial investment from Amazon will create thousands of good-paying, stable jobs as Pennsylvania workers build, maintain, and operate the first two data center campuses in Luzerne County and Bucks County,” Shapiro said.
“Our team worked closely with local leaders and Amazon to land this deal, and we continue to be actively engaged on securing additional sites in Pennsylvania — helping them secure local support, developing the infrastructure needed to support more data centers, and ensuring our permitting processes move quickly and efficiently,” the governor added.
“With this historic announcement, we’re creating opportunity for our workers, generating new revenue for our local communities, and ensuring the future of AI runs right through Pennsylvania,” Shapiro said.
The new high-skilled jobs will range from data center engineers and network specialists, to engineering operations managers, security specialists, and many more technical roles, Amazon Web Services said in a press release.
In addition to those direct positions, the investment is expected to support thousands of local construction jobs and positions in the data center supply chain, as well as other jobs in the local community, according to AWS.
“Amazon’s multi-billion-dollar investment in Pennsylvania reinforces our dedication to advancing AI innovation while creating lasting economic opportunities in the state,” David Zapolsky, Amazon’s chief global affairs and legal officer, said in a press release.
“By expanding our cloud computing infrastructure, we’re investing in Pennsylvania’s future through new jobs, workforce development programs, and community initiatives. We look forward to helping drive the next generation of technology innovation, while delivering meaningful benefits for Pennsylvania residents,” Zapolsky said.
“Pennsylvania is proud to have worked alongside our local partners in Salem Township, Luzerne County and Falls Township, Bucks County, to win today’s unprecedented $20 billion investment from Amazon,” DCED Secretary Rick Siger said.
“The company’s data center campuses will drive enormous positive tax impacts for our Commonwealth, counties, and municipalities, and will create at least 1,250 high-paying, high-tech jobs as well as thousands of construction jobs,” Siger said.
Shannon Kellogg, vice president of public policy at Amazon, announced the launch of the Amazon Northeastern Pennsylvania Community Fund, a grant program aimed at supporting initiatives focused on key themes, including STEM education, sustainability and environment, digital skills, culture and heritage, health and well-being.
Amazon is committing $250,000 to this fund, which will be managed and administered by the nonprofit ChangeX. The program is open to individuals, community groups, schools, nonprofits, and other organizations across Luzerne and Columbia counties, Kellogg said.
Applicants can apply for grants of up to $10,000 for new or existing community projects that align with at least one of the themes outlined by the fund.
Officials said Amazon would partner with Pennsylvania educational institutions and workforce organizations to develop training programs that prepare job seekers for careers in data center construction and operations.
This training and support will include facilities and equipment donations to empower hands-on learning, faculty training from industry subject matter experts, and curricular content to link programs of study to industry standards and best practices.
Those initiatives include:
- Community Workforce Accelerators — training centers that support careers in cloud computing infrastructure with AWS and the company’s network of contractors, vendors and partners. CWAs house a variety of skilled technical trades training programs to prepare the workforce to build, connect, power and operate and maintain AWS’s data centers in the region.
- Data center operations and fiber optic technician programs — bringing industry experts and state-of-the-art equipment to train local education institutions to prepare the next generation of Pennsylvania data center operators.
- Fiber optic fusion splicing workshops — two-day certificate courses implemented at local community colleges, technical schools, and universities that train individuals in new fusion splicing (the welding together of fiber optical cables) techniques and equipment, then connect students to fiber-broadband employers.
- Information infrastructure workshops for educators — one-day workshops to help education and workforce leaders better understand the physical layer of cloud computing and the information economy, and the careers that are available.
- Information Infrastructure Pre-Apprenticeship (“I2PA”) — a paid pre-apprenticeship designed for students and job seekers to prepare for entry into any one of several careers that build, connect, power and operate the infrastructure of the information economy. Those who successfully complete the program will earn industry-recognized credentials and a guaranteed interview with AWS or one of their contractors.
In addition, Amazon will launch new programs to support STEM awareness and learning opportunities for K-12 school systems, the company said.
Luzerne County Community College President John Yudichak said the college “stands at the ready” to produce the necessary technology and skilled trade workers to meet the demands of a 21st-century Pennsylvania economy through its new Career & Technology Academy, its Applied Technology Programs, and a new Microcredential Academy.
When he was a state senator, Yudichak worked on the passage of Act 25 of 2021, which established a data center tax exemption to serve as a economic incentive to attract data center development to Pennsylvania.
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