The Indiana County Planning Commission in western Pennsylvania approved a motion on Oct. 14, 2026 to accept Amazon Data Services, Inc.'s preliminary land development plan for a data center campus at the Homer City Energy Campus for further review under the county's Subdivision & Land Development Ordinance, according to the Indiana County Office of Planning & Development. The county lists the project as the PIT100 Masterplan, names AWS as the anticipated end user and gives Oct. 14 as the application's official filing date. Acceptance starts a 90-day review period running from Oct. 15, 2026 to Jan. 12, 2027. It is not an approval; the plan remains under review by commission members, county planning staff and engineering consultants engaged by the County Commissioners.

What AWS Has Proposed

According to the project narrative AWS filed with the county, dated Aug. 27, 2026, the company proposes to acquire approximately 2,200 acres in Center and Blacklick townships and build 39 data centers across six sites, named Bruner, Helen, Green, West, Harvey/Gaston and Rura, along with office and storage space, electrical substation infrastructure and redundant electrical generation. Each building would be two stories, about 70 feet tall, with a footprint of approximately 112,500 square feet and 225,000 square feet in total.

AWS plans to build in phases over about 10 years. Construction is anticipated to begin in December 2026 on the Rura and West sites, subject to third-party permit approvals, and the Helen site, slated to start in January 2032, would be the final phase, with full build-out projected for the second or third quarter of 2036, the narrative says. AWS is asking the county to handle the full campus through a single preliminary master land development plan, followed by a final land development plan for each phase.

The company is seeking Planning Commission recommendations to waive two ordinance provisions: Sec. 509.5.A, because the Center-Black Lick township line bisects the Bruner, Helen, Green and Rura sites, and Sec. 510.6, the sidewalk requirement, except where needed for pedestrian circulation among the data centers. In lieu of the open space requirement, AWS proposes a fee equal to the fair market value of 34 acres.

Power, Water and Jobs

Electricity for the campus would be acquired from FirstEnergy, "supported by the 4.5-gigawatt natural gas power generation facility being constructed by HCR," according to the narrative, which refers to Homer City Redevelopment (HCR). The company states that "AWS will pay all costs associated with any new electrical infrastructure required to serve the data center campus."

Non-contact cooling water would come from existing water-withdrawal rights and from planned water treatment facilities being built by HCR, with the water returned to the Homer City Station for reuse. AWS projects that the combined campus operations will maintain the site's historic water withdrawal rate.

At full build-out, AWS anticipates employing 1,500 to 2,000 permanent operations staff with average salaries of $80,000 to $100,000, the narrative says. The company also says it does not anticipate seeking economic incentives that would reduce real property tax assessments, and that it will work with HCR and other stakeholders to develop a community benefits agreement consistent with Gov. Josh Shapiro's GRID standards.

Different Figures in Earlier Reporting

Data center trade site Baxtel reported on Oct. 7, 2026 that AWS proposed 36 two-story buildings of 225,000 square feet each on 1,100 acres, figures that differ from the 39 buildings on about 2,200 acres in the narrative on file with the county. Baxtel described four construction phases beginning in December 2026, with the final phase starting in January 2032 and completion targeted for June 2036, and reported 1,500 to 2,000 jobs.

Baxtel also reported that Knighthead Capital Management is financing the energy campus project and that more than 1 GW of the 4.5-GW gas plant's output will be supplied to the grid. The site formerly hosted the 2-GW Homer City Generating Station, which operated from 1969 to 2023 and which Baxtel described as Pennsylvania's largest coal plant. HCR is redeveloping that former station into an energy and technology campus, according to the AWS narrative.

The State Framework

The narrative cites the GRID standards Shapiro set in Executive Order 2026-05, which he signed on Aug. 18, 2026. According to the governor's office, the order directs the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to review data center permit applications only when developers have made a legally binding commitment to the GRID Requirements through a Consent Order and Agreement with DEP and have received local approval. The requirements cover paying the full cost of new generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure, community engagement and community benefit agreements, local hiring, and water conservation, and operators must report energy and water use to DEP. Applicants that do not meet the requirements will not receive the existing sales and use tax exemption on data center equipment. The order also bars nondisclosure agreements on data center projects and removes AI data center projects from the PA Permit Fast Track Program.

"My message to data center developers is clear," Shapiro said in the announcement. Public Utility Commission Chairman Steve DeFrank said in the same release that "growth should pay for growth."

What Happens Next

The plan is on the agenda for the Planning Commission's Nov. 18, 2026 meeting at 5 p.m.; the county lists the location as to be confirmed and says a notice with final details will be published in the Indiana Gazette. The 90-day review period ends Jan. 12, 2027. The county is accepting public comments on the application through a form on its project page.

Under the executive order, AWS would also need a pre-application meeting with DEP, a GRID Consent Order and Agreement, and all local approvals before DEP issues permits. If the preliminary master plan is approved, the narrative says AWS will submit a final land development plan for each phase.

Sources