Amazon to make massive $20B+ investment in Pennsylvania AI jobs — with data centers in tow

Amazon will invest at least $20 billion in cloud computing and AI across Pennsylvania, Gov. Josh Shapiro announced today. 

The new plan aims to create at least 1,250 high-paying tech jobs, according to Shapiro. The first two “innovation campuses” will employ workers in building, maintaining and operating local data centers. 

“One site will be nearby in Salem Township, located alongside a nuclear power plant at the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station over in Luzerne County,” Shapiro said at a press conference. “The other initial site will be located in Falls Township in Bucks County, at the Keystone Trade Center, a site that used to be home to one of the largest steel mills in the world.”

The new data centers will serve “as the backbone for America’s AI infrastructure,” according to Kevin Miller, vice president of global data centers for Amazon Web Services (AWS), but the true power of this investment lies in its ability to impact everyday people’s lives, he said. 

To support the creation of a range of jobs through this investment, Amazon will sponsor new workforce development efforts, including data center technician programs, fiber optic fusion splicing workshops and STEM opportunities for K-12 schools, Miller said. 

As part of the deal, the commonwealth is also committing $10 million to workforce development efforts at schools, community colleges and union halls across Pennsylvania to expand technical education programs and build new training centers. None of that funding will directly go to Amazon, according to a recent press release.

“We have secured the largest private sector investment in the history of Pennsylvania,” Shapiro said. 

One new workforce development effort announced was the Technology and Trades Workforce Consortium, a collaboration between four Pennsylvania community colleges to prepare the regional workforce for the coming data center sector.

The consortium will bring together Bucks County, Lehigh Carbon, Luzerne County and Northampton County community colleges, said Bucks County Community College President Patrick Jones at the conference. The community colleges will partner with local high schools to offer pre-apprenticeship programs and pathways into community college or the building trades.

Moving forward, the Shapiro administration is actively working to gain additional sites in Pennsylvania, helping Amazon secure local support and ensuring the permitting process moves quickly, the release said.

An opportunity for more academia and startup partnerships

As Amazon looks for universities and startups to collaborate with, the Shapiro administration hopes that it’ll find those partners here.

“We are home to some of the leading universities on AI and cloud computing development … as well as exciting startups commercializing the advancements made on campus and then bringing them to market,” he said. “As Amazon now looks around for partners to develop the next generation of AI, they don’t have to look any further than right here in our commonwealth.”

Without providing specifics, Shapiro added that Amazon and his administration are already working to “connect the dots” between those ecosystems.

As a part of that, Senator Dave McCormick said that the state is planning an energy innovation summit in Pittsburgh to spotlight opportunities for collaboration. He did not further elaborate on the event or say when it would occur. 

Senator John Fetterman did not speak at the event because he was attending meetings in DC, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. In a statement, Fetterman said “we can all celebrate” the hundreds of jobs and he felt proud of union labor going into the effort, but it’s a situation that his office plans to watch closely.

“I’ll continue to monitor the impact these data centers will have on electricity bills across the commonwealth,” Fetterman said. “I’m always going to stand with the hardworking people of Pennsylvania, and if a megacorporation like Amazon takes actions that make it more expensive for families to power their homes, they’ll be hearing from me.”

PA’s recent billion-dollar wins in the energy sector

The investment builds on other recent investments in Pennsylvania’s AI and energy infrastructure. 

The commonwealth is currently the second-largest energy producer in the entire country and has a unique distinction as a “net energy exporter,” according to Shapiro. 

Late last year, Constellation Energy, the company that runs the Three Mile Island power plant, pledged $1.6 billion to upgrade the facility’s infrastructure for the “largest ever power purchase agreement” with Microsoft. 

Other generation facilities in Pennsylvania are receiving a makeover with the rising demand for energy. The former Homer City Generating Station is currently being redeveloped into a gas-powered data center campus as part of a $10 billion project. 

Pennsylvania’s recent AI and energy infrastructure deals, like the newest one with Amazon, will help the US compete with China for dominance in the AI sector, Shapiro said at the press conference.

“Right now, there is a battle for supremacy when it comes to AI, a battle for supremacy that will be won by either the United States or China,” Shapiro said. “I’m comforted by the fact that, thanks to Amazon, the future of AI is going to run right through the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.” 

Amazon has invested more than $26 billion in Pennsylvania since 2010, with 23 fulfillment and sortation centers and 20 last-mile delivery stations in the commonwealth, according to the company. 

“Amazon’s multi-billion-dollar investment in Pennsylvania reinforces our dedication to advancing AI innovation while creating lasting economic opportunities in the state,” said David Zapolsky, Amazon’s chief global affairs and legal officer. “By expanding our cloud computing infrastructure, we’re investing in Pennsylvania’s future through new jobs, workforce development programs and community initiatives.”