Kline Township supervisors in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania unanimously approved Amazon's proposed data center plan at a special meeting on September 30, 2026, according to local reports. The roughly 350-acre site near Route 309 and Interstate 81 would hold about 2 million square feet of data center buildings. The approval carries a nine-page list of conditions, and state approvals remain. [Source 1] [Source 2]
Evidence: WILK (Audacy) report, October 1, 2026; FOX56 report, September 30, 2026; WNEP report on the planning commission vote, September 28, 2026.
Kline Township's Board of Supervisors voted unanimously at a special meeting on Wednesday, September 30, 2026 to approve Amazon's data center plan, according to FOX56 and WILK. The township planning commission had recommended conditional approval days earlier. [Source 1] [Source 2] [Source 3]
The reported project covers about 350 acres near Route 309 and Interstate 81, with approximately 2 million square feet of data center buildings and 500,000 square feet of administrative and support space. [Source 2]
The supervisors adopted a nine-page list of conditions recommended by the planning commission. Reported categories include noise and acoustics, emergency response, electrical infrastructure, water supply and wastewater, environmental protection, site construction, long-term operations, financial security and other agency approvals. Reported specifics include pre and post blasting surveys of nearby homes and post-construction acoustic testing. [Source 1] [Source 2]
Residents raised concerns about noise, blasting, water use and strain on local utilities. [Source 2]
FOX56 reports that the project still moves through zoning and pre-construction steps with the township and the state. WILK reports that township zoning permits and state environmental clearances are still required. [Source 1] [Source 2]
We did not find the township's approval resolution, the conditions document or an Amazon statement online as of October 2, 2026. The figures above come from local reports and should be treated as reported, not confirmed.
This is our analysis.
**A plan approval is one permission.** It is not a building permit, a power commitment or available capacity. No MW figure, utility arrangement or schedule has been reported.
**This is an owner-operated hyperscale campus.** Amazon builds these for its own cloud. It does not add colocation inventory for other buyers. It can still affect the region through demand on local power, water and construction labor.
**Eastern Pennsylvania is getting busier.** For buyers looking at Lehigh Valley and nearby markets, large hyperscale projects can compete for the same utility upgrades and contractors as colocation builds. Ask providers in the region how their power delivery dates compare with new hyperscale load in the queue.
The reviewed reports do not give a power requirement, utility provider, substation plan, water source, construction schedule, building count or investment figure. We did not review the township's resolution or the full conditions document.
Enerflex said on October 1, 2026 that it has been contracted to design, engineer, fabricate and assemble approximately 450 MW of behind-the-meter natural gas power generation units for an unnamed North American data center developer. Deliveries are scheduled to start in 2027 and finish in 2028. [Source 1]
Read the analysisZone Frontier disclosed that a subsidiary signed a ground lease on September 24, 2026 for about 4,077 acres in Potter County, Texas, around Southwestern Public Service Company's Potter County 345 kV substation. Base rent is $6,000 per acre per year for the data center area and starts only when construction starts there. The lease does not commence until conditions are met, including utility commitments for at least 200 MW of firm service. [Source 1] [Source 2]
Read the analysisVirginia Governor Abigail Spanberger signed Executive Order 22 on September 18, 2026. Effective on signing, the Virginia Economic Development Partnership may not give site readiness, expedited permitting or similar discretionary help to a new data center project with anticipated peak electrical demand of 25 MW or more. The order also bars state agencies from new data center nondisclosure agreements and starts work on backup generator, noise and cooling water rules. [Source 1]
Read the analysis