Why AWS is replacing a 2 GW coal site with a 4.5 GW gas plant
Amazon Web Services plans a 36-building, 1,100-acre campus in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, powered by a new 4.5 GW natural gas facility and creating up to 2,000 jobs.
Amazon Web Services plans a 36-building data center campus across 1,100 acres in Indiana County, Pennsylvania.
The Homer City Energy Campus will be powered by a new 4.5 GW natural gas generation facility built alongside the data center project.
Construction starts in December 2026 and is scheduled to finish by June 2036, with about 1,500 to 2,000 jobs anticipated.
The project marks a major shift from the site’s previous 2 GW coal power generation and expands AWS capacity in Pennsylvania.
Quick read · 1 min
AWS plans a massive data center campus in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, spanning 1,100 acres with 36 buildings. It will be powered by a new 4.5 GW natural gas plant built alongside the campus and is expected to create 1,500 to 2,000 jobs. Construction starts in December 2026 and should wrap up by June 2036. The project marks a major energy shift from the site’s old coal plant to gas-powered computing and ties into broader Pennsylvania investments by AWS.
36 buildings across six sites
Powered by a new 4.5 GW gas plant
Completion targeted for 2036
AWS is moving forward with a large-scale data center campus in Pennsylvania, planning 36 buildings spread over 1,100 acres in Indiana County. The Homer City Energy Campus is designed to run on a new 4.5 gigawatt natural gas generation facility built specifically to support the computing complex.
The plan envisions six sites across Center and Blacklick townships, with each data center building standing about two stories tall and roughly 225,000 square feet. In addition to the data halls, the project includes offices, storage, substations, security, and other infrastructure needed to power and manage AWS’s cloud workloads at scale.
AWS says the project should feed both the campus and the wider Pennsylvania grid, with more than 1 gigawatt of the generated power expected to flow into the state’s electricity network. The Homer City site previously housed a coal-fired plant that operated from 1969 until 2023, making the switch to gas-powered computing a notable energy shift for the region.
Financing comes from Knighthead Capital Management, and AWS has pledged a community benefits agreement to address local effects and provide measurable benefits for residents. The company has also signaled broader Pennsylvania investments tied to its data center footprint in the state.
Work on the campus is planned in four construction stages, starting in December 2026, with the final stage kicking off in January 2032 and the entire campus slated for completion by June 2036. While the data center work ramps up, the gas facility will be developed alongside the project to ensure a steady energy supply for the campus.
The move highlights AWS’s ongoing push to expand data center capacity to support growing cloud demand, particularly in regions where companies expect low-latency access to AWS services and nearby energy infrastructure to accommodate large-scale computing needs.
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What this means for Pennsylvania and the cloud
The Homer City project underscores a broader trend of pairing massive data centers with nearby energy generation to secure reliable power. For local communities, the plan aims to bring tens of thousands of jobs indirectly through construction and long-term operations, though the project’s exact local hiring impacts will depend on ongoing negotiations and contracts.
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Which parts of the campus are changing energy and jobs
The 4.5 GW natural gas plant is a cornerstone of the plan, designed to provide a dedicated energy backbone for the campus and potentially feed into the wider grid during higher demand periods. AWS estimates the development could yield about 1,500 to 2,000 jobs during construction and operation, with average annual salaries in the range reported by industry observers in the plan documents.
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What happens next
Construction is set to begin in December 2026, with phased completion through 2036. Local residents and businesses should watch for updates on community programs and any public forums tied to the project approvals and environmental reviews.
