Billion-dollar data center and energy projects are forging ahead since Sen. Dave McCormick touted the projects back in July 2025.
There’s been some community pushback to a few of the projects, even as companies say they’re working to address any concerns.
About seven months ago, President Donald Trump, powerful politicians and high-profile execs gathered in Pittsburgh to announce $90 billion of private sector investment for AI, energy and data centers.
So, what happened after that? In some cases, not much publicly. While some projects are making progress by moving through regulatory requirements, others have shared no public updates.
As opposition to data centers has gotten louder over the past year, there’s been some community pushback to a few of the projects, even as companies say they’re working to address any concerns.
“We engage regularly through open houses, public meetings and ongoing coordination with local leaders, first responders, unions and regulators,” a spokesperson for the Homer City Redevelopment project told Technical.ly. “We also provide proactive updates as we reach milestones in the project so that the community understands what we’re doing, why it matters and how we’re doing it safely and responsibly.”
Sen. McCormick’s Energy and Innovation Summit at Carnegie Mellon University last year had the Pittsburgh tech scene buzzing. It also sparked local backlash, primarily due to President Trump’s attendance and possible environmental concerns surrounding AI investment.
Ultimately, though, some of the headline-grabbing announcements at the summit didn’t match what companies actually pledged.
For example, McCormick’s office said companies would spend amounts that the firms later would not confirm, like the $2.4 billion from Constellation Energy.
In some cases, investments announced at the summit were originally made years before, even as far back as the Biden administration.
McCormick’s office did not immediately return Technical.ly’s request to comment on these discrepancies.
