Essential Utilities has announced an agreement with International Electric Power III to invest in a 1,400-acre data center campus in Greene County, Pennsylvania. Essential Utilities, through its subsidiary Aqua, reports that it will design, build, and operate an 18 million gallons per day water treatment plant for the site, providing water supply to both the data center and an on-site power plant.
Essential Utilities says the water treatment plant will draw raw water from the adjacent Monongahela River to support power generation and cooling for the data center. The company’s subsidiary Peoples, which it claims is Pennsylvania’s largest natural gas utility, will provide gas consulting and energy management services to the project.
The on-site data center will use 944 megawatts of behind-the-meter natural gas combined cycle combustion turbines, supplemented with battery storage and backed by an electric grid interconnection, according to Essential Utilities. The Greene County site was selected due to ample land for both the data center and energy generation, proximity to the Monongahela River for water access, and nearby dark fiber connectivity.
Essential Utilities reports it has secured the manufacturing slots for the gas turbines, with delivery planned for 2028. The project is expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2029. Essential also notes it is in active discussions with other data center developers representing over five gigawatts of power demand throughout its service footprint.
“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.
“Essential’s unique expertise in water, wastewater, and natural gas makes them an ideal partner to ensure we have the power and water needed to bring this data center to life,” said Peter Dailey, IEP CEO.
Essential Utilities claims this initiative illustrates the company’s role in supplying critical water, wastewater, and gas infrastructure to support large-scale data and AI infrastructure.
Source: Essential Utilities
