Amazon plans to spend $20B on data centers in Pennsylvania, including one next to a nuclear power plant.
The proximity would allow the power plant to essentially plug into the Amazon facility. It’s drawn some federal scrutiny, The Associated Press reports.
At a news conference in Berwick in the shadow of the power plant, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro (right) called it the largest private sector investment in Pennsylvania’s history. Monday’s announcement, he said, is “just the beginning” because his administration is working with Amazon on additional data center projects in Pennsylvania.
Elizabeth Stelle, vice president of policy at Harrisburg-based Commonwealth Foundation, said it's exciting to see this level of investment in Pennsylvania.
However, she says Shapiro, a Democrat, would better serve the state by building a better business atmosphere, not simply chasing a big name like Amazon then circumventing his policies with tax breaks.
"It's great for the people in Pennsylvania, but we are concerned that the governor's policies are actually making investments like this more difficult and that he's chasing a lot of these corporations with special privileges and handouts rather than leveling the playing field for all industries, all businesses so that we can have hundreds of these ribbon cuttings instead of one major one."
The plan from Amazon comes at a time when President Donald Trump and his administration say there is a need for more data centers to help companies and power things such as artificial intelligence (AI). This will require an increase in electricity supply, something Stelle says Pennsylvania has available.
"There is a concern that we're seeing the demand for power expand much faster than the supply for power. That’s a major issue in Pennsylvania where the governor has proposed a carbon tax and some other restrictions that make it really difficult to generate more electricity at the same time that these data centers are coming online and using more electricity than ever before. So, we really need to up the game in how much reliable and affordable electricity we’re generating. That's going to be a major issue for state as we move forward."
