(WHTM) — President Donald Trump and Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA) announced they will showcase more than $90 billion in private-sector investments that aim to create thousands of jobs and position Pennsylvania as the leader in artificial intelligence, energy, and innovation.
Trump and McCormick are announcing the investment at the inaugural Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit, which they said is the largest private investment in the Commonwealth’s history. One thing that bridges the red-blue divide is green, and the promise of investment in Pennsylvania.
“As the nation’s second-largest energy producer and a global nuclear power leader, Pennsylvania is uniquely positioned to deliver the abundant, affordable energy that growing AI and advanced manufacturing sectors demand,” McCormick said. “We have the skilled workforce to build and operate this critical infrastructure, world-class universities driving innovation, and strategic proximity to over half the country’s population. I am proud to partner with President Trump and the business leaders here today to drive a new era of industrial growth that helps make America energy dominant while creating jobs and opportunities for working families across Pennsylvania.”
“I think it’s going to be important for them to figure out a way to go from a press release today to actual job creation tomorrow,” added Gov. Josh Shapiro (D).
Leading on AI is also important, and AI needs lots of power, said David Sacks, Trump’s AI czar.
“We have to drill, baby, drill. We have to build, baby, build. We have to keep building new power and new energy,” said Sacks.
That means all of the above, including nuclear. Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi said Penn State, home of the first campus nuclear reactor, is poised for the next step.
“Penn State is working with Westinghouse and the NRC to see if we can be the first university to also get the eVinci into the micro nuclear reactor,” said Bendapudi.
High-tech students and highly skilled laborers are key, said TV star Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs. Rowe said too few of us are willing to get our hands dirty.
“If I had a bell, I’d ring it now, for the last 12 years, for every five tradespeople who leave the workforce to come in five out to two. It’s been going on for a long time, and the math is against us,” said Rowe.
But working for Pennsylvania, officials said, its energy resources, its low-cost energy and its welcoming atmosphere are evidenced by a summit like this.
Sen. McCormick released a fact sheet detailing the investments announced at the summit:
- Anthropic committed $1 million over three years to support the PicoCTF program that provides cybersecurity education to middle and high school students. In addition, they announced $1 million over three years to support energy research at Carnegie Mellon University.
- Blackstone announced a $25 billion investment in data center and energy infrastructure development in Northeast Pennsylvania, along with a new joint venture with PPL Corporation for power generation. This investment is expected to create 6,000 construction jobs along with 3,000 new permanent jobs.
- Brookfield announced a 20-year, $3 billion deal with Google to repower two hydropower facilities and generate 670 megawatts of power. Brookfield estimates 300 new jobs to be protected.
- Capital Power announced $3 billion over 10 years to upgrade and expand a gas facility in Shamokin Dam, PA, including $2 billion of Pennsylvania gas purchases. More than 30 full-time jobs are expected to be created as a result of this investment.
- Constellation Energy will create 3,000 jobs per year as a result of a $2.4 billion investment to uprate the Limerick nuclear power plant. As a result, Pennsylvania should receive an additional 340 megawatts of power capacity, contingent upon customer commitments.
- CoreWeave announced a $6 billion investment to develop an up to 300-megawatt data center in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. This new data center is expected to create 600 new construction jobs and 175 full-time operational jobs.
- Energy Capital Partners announced a $5 billion plan to develop a data center at the York II Energy Center. This project is expected to create 2,500 new construction jobs. In addition, Energy Capital Partners plans to develop 51 community solar projects designed to power 24,000 homes.
- Energy Innovation Center Infrastructure Academy plans to build a first-of-its-kind regional training facility for energy and AI infrastructure workers with the potential to impact more than 7,000 jobs across southwest Pennsylvania.
- Enbridge will invest $1 billion to expand its gas pipelines into Pennsylvania, with projects to be announced over the next six to 18 months.
- Equinor announced an investment of $1.6 billion, generating 1,000 direct and indirect jobs per year, to boost natural gas production at Equinor’s Pennsylvania facilities and explore opportunities to link gas to flexible power generation for data centers.
- First Energy will invest $15 billion to expand power distribution, strengthen grid infrastructure, and operate the enhanced grid, supporting 56 of the 67 Pennsylvania counties. In partnership with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, First Energy will also expand an apprenticeship program, creating opportunities for more than 40 new hires across dozens of Pennsylvania’s counties.
- Frontier Group announced plans to invest $3.2 billion to transform the former Bruce Mansfield coal power plant into a natural gas power station in Shippingport, Pennsylvania. This project is expected to create 15,000 construction jobs and over 300 permanent jobs.
- GE Vernova announced up to $100 million of investment in Pennsylvania facilities, including creating 250 new jobs by expanding a power grid equipment manufacturing plant in Charleroi, PA.
- Google announced a new 20-year deal with Brookfield to repower two hydropower facilities, Safe Harbor Hydro Facility and Holtwood Hydro Facility, resulting in 670 megawatts of power generation to support the state. Google has also launched a new “AI Works for PA” initiative offering free training for one million Pennsylvania small businesses and Pittsburgh residents and awarded a grant to the Electrical Training Alliance to train electrical workers and new apprentices using AI through an AI-integrated curriculum.
- Homer City Redevelopment announced an agreement in principle to purchase $15 billion of Pennsylvania natural gas to support over 4 gigawatts of power generation at the Homer City Redevelopment site. This project is expected to create 1,000 onsite jobs in addition to 10,000 new construction jobs.
- Meta announced $2.5 million as part of a partnership program with the Schwartz Center for Entrepreneurship at Carnegie Mellon University to support startups in rural Pennsylvania communities in addition to community accelerator training for small businesses.
- PA Data Center Partners and Powerhouse Data Centers revealed plans to develop a $15 billion, 1.3 gigawatt, three-campus data center hub near Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
- PPL Corporation will invest $6.8 billion through 2028 to expand grid capacity and modernize transmission across multiple Pennsylvania counties to support the growing power demand of data centers. The projects are expected to create 3,400 new jobs in Pennsylvania. PPL also announced a joint venture with Blackstone to develop, own and operate combined-cycle gas generation capacity.
- TC Energy announced plans to invest $400 million to modernize its gas pipeline network in Pennsylvania.
- Westinghouse Electric Company is working to have 10 new, large nuclear power plant reactors under construction by 2030, generating what is currently estimated to be $6 billion in economic impact and 15,000 new jobs in southwest Pennsylvania.
“This is our moment as a nation, and Pennsylvania once again is at the crossroads of this opportunity,” Shapiro added. “How we address that is going to define the next 50 years in America and maybe longer.”
There is a vision for Pennsylvania’s energy future, but it will take a lot of energy, political, financial, and technological power to make those visions a reality.