Huge AI Data Center Planned for Pennsylvania Coal Plant Site

The 3,200-acre (1,295-hectare) data center campus, located about 50 miles east of Pittsburgh, will be developed at the location of Homer City Generation, previously the state’s largest coal plant, Homer City Redevelopment and Kiewit Power Constructors Co. said Wednesday in a statement.

The initial capital expenditure on power infrastructure and site readiness is estimated to exceed $10 billion, the companies said. Hedge fund Knighthead Capital Management is leading the financing of the project.

The Homer City campus is one of the most ambitious projects to emerge amid a boom in power demand from AI and other end-use sectors. The scramble to construct more capacity is increasingly focusing on natural gas, which is readily available across the US and — despite being a fossil fuel — gives lower emissions than coal when burned.

The plan for the Homer City campus includes the generation of as much as 4.5 gigawatts of electricity using gas from the adjacent Marcellus shale basin. The project will utilize infrastructure left on site from the old coal plan.

GE Vernova will provide seven gas-fired turbines for the project, with first deliveries expected to begin next year.

The smokestacks and cooling towers at Homer City were largely demolished two weeks ago.