Breaking Ground on Project Phoenix: A 2 GW Data Center Campus in Shippingport, Pennsylvania
We broke ground on September 10, 2026 on “Project Phoenix,” a 2 GW, three-facility data center campus in Shippingport, Pennsylvania that is expected to anchor an estimated $10 billion in regional economic investment.
Shippingport has powered this region before. Project Phoenix takes that legacy and rebuilds it for what comes next — supporting thousands of construction jobs, hundreds of permanent careers, and a grid that ends up with more capacity than it started with.
What is Project Phoenix, and why Shippingport?
Project Phoenix is a 2 GW, three-facility data center campus that repurposes a legacy industrial site in Shippingport, Pennsylvania into new digital infrastructure built to serve regional demand and long-term local economic development.
Watch the Project Phoenix groundbreaking in Shippingport, Pennsylvania
The site choice is the point. Rather than consuming greenfield land, we’re bringing a dormant industrial property back into productive use in a community that has carried the region’s energy economy for generations.
“Project Phoenix represents the future of responsible data center development,” said Andrew Schaap, CEO of Aligned. “The project is a legacy reimagined that transforms a dormant industrial site into a foundational asset for the local community.”
The goal, as Schaap put it, is to establish “a powerful new economic hub for Western Pennsylvania” — supporting critical infrastructure for our customers while creating “long-term prosperity for local workers and the community.”
How does Project Phoenix align with Pennsylvania’s GRID requirements?
We support Pennsylvania’s Governor’s Responsible Infrastructure Development (GRID) requirements, and Project Phoenix is built around the same four commitments GRID sets out.
- Protecting energy affordability
- Supporting workforce and economic development
- Promoting transparency and community engagement
- Strengthening environmental protection
“We proudly support Governor Shapiro’s GRID standards and are a signatory of the Ratepayer Protection Pledge,” Schaap said. “We operate these facilities and stay in the communities we build… Project Phoenix serves as a model for how advanced digital infrastructure can sustainably fuel regional economies.”
That last part matters more than it might sound. We don’t develop and exit. We operate what we build, which means we’re accountable to these communities for the long run.
How will Project Phoenix protect energy affordability?
Project Phoenix runs on a dedicated onsite power source rather than drawing from the local electrical grid, and once complete, it is expected to deliver substantial excess capacity back to the grid.
The campus sits in the Shippingport Industrial Park, adjacent to the Shippingport Power Station — a former coal plant being redeveloped into an advanced natural gas energy campus. The data centers draw from that dedicated source, not from the supply households and local businesses depend on.
When the project is complete, we expect it to add substantial excess power capacity back to the grid, boosting supply for the country’s largest grid operator and for Pennsylvania consumers.
How will Project Phoenix support jobs and economic development in Western Pennsylvania?
Project Phoenix is expected to support roughly 3,000 construction jobs and create about 640 full-time careers running the campus, plus thousands of indirect jobs across the regional supply chain.
- 3,000 construction jobs during the build
- 640 full-time careers in ongoing campus operations
- Thousands of indirect jobs across the local supply chain and regional economy
- New annual government revenue for Beaver County
These are operations careers, not temporary placements — the kind of work that keeps people in the county rather than sending them out of it.
Our construction partners see the same opportunity.
“Project Phoenix represents a significant investment in the future of Western Pennsylvania and the region’s digital infrastructure,” said Beth Lowry, CEO of Holder Construction. “We’re proud to partner with Aligned on this transformative project… The project will create meaningful opportunities for local workers and businesses while supporting long-term economic growth across the region.”
“Transforming a legacy industrial site into a next-generation data center campus requires vision and world-class execution,” said Brett Burgett, CEO of Kokosing. “Together, we are delivering sustainable, critical infrastructure while providing thousands of highly skilled tradespeople the opportunity to build the future of their own community.”
How are we engaging the Shippingport community?
We engaged Shippingport early and built channels for open dialogue, so local feedback could shape the campus’s design, planning, and construction rather than arrive after the decisions were made.
In practice, that meant three things: listening and engaging before plans were fixed, establishing durable channels for open dialogue, and actually incorporating what we heard into design, planning, and construction.
“Project Phoenix honors that legacy, opening a new chapter by taking a historic site and rebuilding it into a modern engine of innovation,” said Shippingport Mayor John Erickson.
By creating thousands of jobs and career pathways, Erickson added, “this is far more than an infrastructure project — it is a profound investment in our community’s future.”
How does Project Phoenix address water use?
Each Project Phoenix data center is engineered to require zero water for operational cooling, using a closed-loop system that continuously recycles pure, deionized water.
The result is a minimal overall water footprint — comparable to that of a standard commercial office building. For a 2 GW campus, that’s a meaningful difference in a region where water is a shared resource.
Beyond meeting all federal, state, and local environmental mandates, we’re pursuing Green Globes certification at Project Phoenix. Green Globes is a comprehensive, science-based green building rating system administered by the Green Building Initiative (GBI) that evaluates resource efficiency and overall environmental impact. We’re among the highest-certifying data center developers in the program.
Frequently asked questions
What is Project Phoenix?
Project Phoenix is a 2 GW data center campus spanning three facilities in Shippingport, Pennsylvania. Aligned Data Centers announced the groundbreaking on September 10, 2026.
How many jobs will Project Phoenix support?
Roughly 3,000 construction jobs and about 640 full-time careers in ongoing campus operations, plus thousands of indirect jobs across the regional economy.
Will Project Phoenix draw power from the local electrical grid?
No. Project Phoenix uses a dedicated onsite power source rather than the local electrical grid, and is expected to deliver excess capacity back to the grid once complete.
How much water does Project Phoenix use for cooling?
The facilities are engineered to require zero water for operational cooling, using a closed-loop system that continuously recycles pure, deionized water.
Is Project Phoenix pursuing green building certification?
Yes — Green Globes certification, administered by the Green Building Initiative (GBI), which evaluates resource efficiency and overall environmental impact.
