Pennsylvania Approves 15 On-Site Gas Generators Backing AI Data Center in Clearfield

Pennsylvania regulators have approved plans for a gas-fired power installation designed to supply electricity to an AI data center in Clearfield County.

According to a notice published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin on Saturday, the state Department of Environmental Protection issued a plan approval to Iron City Wells, LLC for the construction of 15 natural gas–fired engine generators at the Iron City No. 1 Power Generator and Compute Center facility in Karthaus Township.

The application was received on June 23, 2025, and the permit was issued on Jan. 16, 2026. The approval expires on July 15, 2027.

The generators are intended to power a “computing center” located at the site. DEP said the plan approval includes requirements covering emissions limits, monitoring, testing, work practices, recordkeeping, and reporting to ensure compliance with federal and state air-quality regulations.

According to the permit details, projected annual emissions from the generators are capped at 19.93 tons of nitrogen oxides, 29.52 tons of carbon monoxide, and 20.43 tons of volatile organic compounds.

DEP said Iron City Wells indicated the proposed air contamination sources would meet all applicable regulatory requirements.

The project advances as demand for AI-driven data centers accelerates across the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions served by PJM Interconnection, the largest wholesale electricity market in the United States.

Within the PJM footprint, developers have increasingly explored on-site generation as a way to bypass grid congestion, secure firm power supply, and shorten deployment schedules for compute-intensive facilities.