Report: Pennsylvania gas power to grow 15% by 2030
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Gabriella Turrisi/Axios
Pennsylvania's natural gas power capacity is projected to grow at least 15% by 2030, driven largely by rising electricity demand from data centers, per a new PennEnvironment Research & Policy Center analysis of federal data.
Why it matters: Pennsylvania's data center boom is expected to drive a new wave of natural gas development, as developers required by the state to supply their own power pursue gas-fired plants — potentially locking in fossil fuel infrastructure for decades, per the report.
Zoom in: Those projections could be conservative if major proposals beyond Homer City move forward. Many of Western Pennsylvania's largest proposed data centers plan to run on natural gas, though many lack firm opening dates or aren't expected to come online until after 2030.
- Homer City's planned 4.5-gigawatt gas plant, expected to be running by 2027, would power its data center campus and send surplus power to the grid, while a 2-gigawatt Shippingport campus plans to generate its own gas power on-site.
- An Elizabeth Township proposal calls for up to 28 data center buildings and a 1-gigawatt gas plant, with no projected opening year yet.
- In Fayette County, a proposed 3.75-gigawatt gas plant would supply the grid and potential data center and industrial customers. It would come online in targeted phases ending in 2032.
- The 274-acre Misty Hollow data center campus in Butler County would include a 300-megawatt natural gas plant on site, with plans to double that capacity. If it moves forward, it could be operational as early as 2029.
Between the lines: The natural gas needed to power data centers and other energy-intensive facilities is already prompting more drilling in Pennsylvania — the number of new wells jumped roughly 45% from 2024 to 2025, reaching its highest level since 2022 at more than 400, per state Department of Environmental Protection data.
Zoom out: U.S. gas-fired power capacity that's planned or in development grew 50% in the first half of 2026, per Global Energy Monitor, as proposals for new power plants pile up. Still, many remain speculative.
- The growing pipeline could be a boon for the gas industry, while raising concerns about carbon emissions and posing new challenges for regulators.
- Nationally, planned gas projects across 32 states and Washington, D.C., would add 60.4 gigawatts of capacity by 2030 — up 44% from projections in December 2025, per the PennEnvironment report.
Pennsylvania is the second-largest producer of natural gas in the U.S. and consumes only about a quarter of the gas it produces, per the EIA.
The bottom line: Nearly 100 data center projects are proposed across Pennsylvania, but not all will be built.
- With new state requirements, greater local control and growing opposition, projects face mounting hurdles.