Amazon Web Services is the newly identified end user for Project Hazelnut, the proposed hyperscale data center campus in Hazle Township, Pennsylvania.
For people in the area who tried to learn who would occupy the site, that disclosure is likely to deepen concerns about the project's size and the secrecy surrounding it.
Here's what to know
Public records emails reviewed by LehighValleyLive.com showed that Amazon Web Services would operate Project Hazelnut if local officials approved it.
The governor's office released the records Jan. 22.
The correspondence, sent between February and October 2025, includes messages involving Pennsylvania community and economic development secretary Rick Siger and Amazon Web Services economic development manager Rebecca Ford.
In one of those exchanges, Siger said he wanted to disclose Amazon's role, but Ford responded that "contractual issues" would determine when any public announcement could be made.
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The proposal includes 15 buildings and its own power substation, creating a major new demand source on the PJM Interconnection grid at a time when high capacity costs are already driving up utility bills across Pennsylvania.
"We're sort of in the epicenter of Amazon Web Services activity," Sugarloaf Township resident Annie Vinatieri, told LehighValleyLive.
More background
Amazon announced in June 2025 that it planned to invest $20 billion in Pennsylvania data center development and has openly talked about its other projects in the region.
Even so, it had not publicly acknowledged its ties to Project Hazelnut while residents, officials, and advocacy groups pressed for answers.
Gov. Josh Shapiro's administration said it will not permit nondisclosure agreements tied to data center developments, a significant change from the state's earlier fast-track posture toward hyperscale projects.
Opponents in the community have warned about possible effects on property values, views, noise, water demand, and electricity consumption if such a large industrial complex is built near homes.
The developer has already cleared 1,200 wooded acres at the proposed site. More trees were cut along a 12-mile corridor for a 500-kilovolt transmission line connecting Hazelnut to the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station nuclear power plant.
What's being done?
Hazle Township supervisors rejected Project Hazelnut in November after prolonged local opposition.
The township is under a six-month pause on data center development while officials prepare a curative amendment that would add data center rules to a zoning ordinance.
NorthPoint Development has sought to strengthen support by emphasizing financial benefits. In 2024, the governor's office promoted Hazelnut as a "transformative technology campus" expected to produce more than 900 jobs. An email from Siger said Amazon and Hazle Township had negotiated a $5 million community benefits agreement, though it has not been released publicly.
NorthPoint answered the rejection with a $165 million community benefits agreement that promises $10,000 for every township household. It is unclear whether the company will submit a revised plan and ask supervisors to reconsider.
With the end user identified, the debate over zoning, permits, and utility impacts now focuses on who will benefit from the additional energy demand and who will absorb the costs.
"What we're all facing is truly dystopian in my opinion," Vinatieri said. "... I think at this point the only way to right the ship is drastic measures, not just empty words or vague promises."
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