AWS Cumulus Data Center Campus, Salem Township

Timeline from the record

Newest first. Record entries come from the filings and reports the registry cites. Coverage entries are headlines from publisher feeds we monitor daily, linked to the outlet; last checked September 14, 2026.

1. March 2024

   Under construction
   AWS acquires full 960MW campus from Talen Energy for $650M; phased 120MW-increment buildout to continue through 960MW or optionally capped at 480MW Source: Data Center Dynamics
2. January 2023

   Under construction
   First 48MW hyperscale building (300,000 sq ft) completed by Talen Source: Data Center Dynamics
3. July 2021

   Proposed
   Talen Energy announces Cumulus Data Center campus with AWS as anchor tenant adjacent to Susquehanna Steam Electric Station Source: Data Center Dynamics

Opposition and litigation at this site

Partly. Both documented support and documented opposition to AWS Cumulus Data Center Campus, Salem Township in Salem Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania appear in the record, with no clear majority position. Local sentiment is divided per Salem Township officials.

How the community has taken it

Reception is a sourced signal, not an editorial judgment: mixed reception means documented support and documented opposition both exist with no clear majority position on record.

Local sentiment is divided per Salem Township officials. The township signed nondisclosure agreements with data-center developers, drawing transparency criticism from a state legislator, and there has been significant residential turnover near the site (homes bought out). No organized litigation specific to this campus was identified.

Source: The Center Square (via Black Chronicle)

Power and water

10-year PPA from adjacent 2.5GW Susquehanna nuclear plant; 2025 expanded agreement for up to 1,920MW by 2032. AWS acquired Talen's Cumulus campus for $650M (acquisition price; full campus buildout cost separate).

0.060 MGD (30-day average) per Amazon's SRBC consumptive-use application, covering evaporative cooling for Buildings 2 and 3 of the initial phase (Building 1 has no consumptive use); water is drawn from an on-site production well, not the Susquehanna River directly. Full 960 MW build-out demand is not stated in the application.

Public money on the record

Notes on the record

Adjacent to the 2.5GW Susquehanna Steam Electric Station. FERC blocked a proposed colocation agreement in April 2025, leading to the PPA structure instead. TeraWulf operates a separate Nautilus cryptomining facility (Nautilus) on the same property not included in this record.

Other sites within 30 miles

Distances are between recorded coordinates, many of which are a city or county centroid, so treat them as approximate. Cumulative load on one utility and one aquifer is the question a planning commission rarely asks.

• Nautilus Cryptomine - Building 1 · Berwick (Salem Township) · Talen Energyunder 1 mile · Operating
• 4-3 Glenbrook Group Salem Township Data Center Campus (Salem 3) · Salem Township · 4-3 Glenbrook Group2 mi · Proposed · 3.5 GW
• QTS Salem Township Data Center Campus (Salem 2) · Salem Township · QTS Data Centers2 mi · Proposed
• Project Hazelnut · Hazle Township · NorthPoint Development (NP Hazleton Holdings 1 LLC)12 mi · Proposed · In litigation
• AWS Kline Township Data Center Campus · Kline Township · Amazon Web Services17 mi · Proposed
• Panther Creek HPC/AI Data Center Campus · Nesquehoning · Bitfarms Ltd.23 mi · Under construction · 350 MW
• Panther Creek Plant · Nesquehoning · Bitfarms Ltd. (Keel Infrastructure Corp.)23 mi · Operating · 350 MW
• Talen Energy Montour Data Center Campus · Washingtonville · Talen Energy28 mi · Proposed

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