Amazon has announced a historic $20 billion investment to expand AI infrastructure across Pennsylvania. This marks the largest private-sector investment in the state’s history, with planned innovation campuses in Salem and Falls Townships. Governor Josh Shapiro emphasized this investment’s significance, stating, “This initial investment from Amazon will create thousands of stable jobs as Pennsylvania workers build, maintain and operate the first two data center campuses in Luzerne County and Bucks County.”
Amazon, through Amazon Web Services (AWS), plans to generate 1,250 high-skilled jobs directly, alongside thousands in the data center supply chain. This initiative will bolster AWS’s commitment to AI innovation and economic growth in the region.
The Salem Township campus will consist of 15 data center buildings over the next decade. Notably, AWS acquired land near the Susquehanna nuclear plant, intending to pair clean energy with AI infrastructure. However, a proposed colocation agreement with the plant was blocked by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
In Falls Township, AWS has signed a non-disclosure agreement for a potential data center at the Keystone Trade Center. The company also aims to expand its renewable energy portfolio in Pennsylvania with 12 solar farms and additional on-site solar projects.
The news follows AWS’s $10 billion investment in North Carolina, targeting AI and cloud computing infrastructure expansion. This move is set to create at least 500 new high-skilled jobs in North Carolina, further strengthening its position as an innovation hub.
Globally, AWS plans to invest approximately $100 billion in AI infrastructure this year. CEO Andy Jassy highlighted the significant opportunities AI presents: “AI represents, for sure, the biggest opportunity since cloud, and probably the biggest technology shift in business since the internet.”
