Will design and build a wastewater treatment plant and provide gas and energy management services
Essential Utilities, a US-based utility company focusing on natural gas and wastewater treatment, has invested $26 million into a data center project in development in Greene County, Pennsylvania.
The utility signed an agreement with independent power producer International Electric Power III (IEP) to become an investor in the planned 1,400-acre data center.
The data center is set to be powered behind-the-meter via 944MW of natural gas combined cycle combustion turbines, supported by a battery energy storage system, and backed up through an existing grid connection. The project is expected to be operational in Q1 of 2029.
“This is an exciting partnership that provides us the opportunity to leverage our expertise both in water and natural gas and highlights our capabilities as we work with hyperscalers to facilitate the growth of data centers to power the new age of Artificial Intelligence, here in Pennsylvania,” said Chris Franklin, Essential Utilities chairman and CEO.
Under the terms of the agreement, Essential, through its subsidiary Aqua, will design, build, and operate an 18 million gallons per day water treatment plant to service the power plant and data center. The water treatment plant will utilize raw water from the close-by Monongahela River, supporting both power generation and data center cooling needs.
In addition, Essential's natural gas subsidiary, Peoples, will provide gas consulting services and energy management services to the project.
As a result of the partnership, the project has secured manufacturing slots for the gas turbines, with delivery expected in 2028. Following this, IEP is now seeking investors for the next stage of the project.
IEP is the primary developer of the project. The company claims that the Greene County site has ample land for the data center and on-site energy generation, plentiful access to water, and access to dark fiber.
“Pennsylvania’s abundant natural resources, world-class workforce, and strong federal, state, and local official support drew us to Greene County, and Essential’s investment allows us to take the next step toward making this exciting project a reality for Pennsylvania,” said IEP CEO Peter Dailey.
Essential serves approximately 5.5 million people across nine states, including Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Virginia.
The deal reflects a growing trend in the sector, with more and more developers seeking behind-the-meter arrangements to power their data centers.
A notable example is Texas Critical Data Centers, which recently closed the purchase of 235 acres of land in Ector County, Texas, to build a 250MW natural gas-powered AI data center, with the potential to scale beyond 1GW.
Source: DCD
