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Fezzik Energy J&L Steel Sites

Midland Borough and City of Aliquippa, Beaver County

Fezzik Energy is trying to attract data centers to former J&L Steel sites in Midland Borough and the City of Aliquippa in Beaver County, and one of its partners has described the Midland project as similar in scale to Aligned's Shippingport campus.

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At a glance

The project by the numbers

StatusSpeculative / Exploratory
First announced2025
Target onlineTBD

Fezzik Energy is marketing old J&L Steel land in Midland and Aliquippa to data center builders

The number that mattersFezzik says all of its sites are approved for behind-the-meter power, meaning a data center could run on its own on-site plant, and sit next to major gas pipelines including the Texas Eastern interstate line.
Developer
Fezzik Energy, whose partners include land developer Chuck Betters, attorney Jonathan Kamin and Joanna Doven, who is also executive director of the Pittsburgh-based AI Strike Team. Fezzik says it is advancing three sites in Southwestern Pennsylvania and that one is fully entitled and shovel-ready near existing nuclear generation.
Tenant
No end user has been named. Fezzik markets its sites to hyperscale data center companies but hasn't announced a buyer or tenant.
Current stage
Site marketing and recruitment. No municipal application has been reported in Midland or Aliquippa, and Aliquippa City Council agendas posted from July 2025 through October 2026 show no data center items. The state's data center permit tracker reportedly lists a Fezzik project in Midland, while Beaver County Commissioner Jack Manning said in April 2026 that he had no information on any proposed data centers going through permitting other than the Bruce Mansfield site in Shippingport.
Decision body
Midland Borough Council for the Midland site and the City of Aliquippa for the Aliquippa site, with state permits from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Beaver County has no approval role, according to the county solicitor.
Top issues
What remains in the ground at the former steel mills, the gas power plants Fezzik says its sites are set up for, use of Ohio River water, how little has been disclosed, and Midland's location directly across the Ohio River from the Beaver Valley nuclear plant.
Key opponents
No organized opposition group has been reported.
Key supporters
Aliquippa Mayor Dwan Walker, who is also Midland's borough manager, has said he wants old industrial sites redeveloped, possibly as data centers. Fezzik partner Joanna Doven says she has been in frequent contact with Midland's borough council and mayor, who have had many questions.

How we got here

The Wall Street Journal reported on July 12, 2025, on a $2 billion plan to turn a long-closed mill site in Aliquippa into a power plant and data centers, and Fezzik Energy reposted the story on Aug. 4, 2025, under its own name. Fezzik's website says it is advancing three Southwestern Pennsylvania sites, one fully entitled and shovel-ready near existing nuclear generation and a future small modular reactor zone. In February 2026 the Post-Gazette reported that Fezzik was working to attract data centers to former J&L Steel sites in Midland and Aliquippa, and partner Joanna Doven said a Midland project was similar in scale to Aligned's Shippingport plan. In April 2026 Beaver County Commissioner Jack Manning said he had no information on any data centers going through permitting besides the one in Shippingport. No municipal application has been reported.

What is at stake

Impacts raised and open questions

Air quality

Medium

Fezzik says its sites are approved for behind-the-meter development next to major gas pipelines including the Texas Eastern line, and that its approach allows natural gas power plants to be built now, with nuclear power later.

Fezzik Energy

Water

Low

Fezzik says it seeks out sites with abundant water to go with old industrial infrastructure and access to energy.

Fezzik Energy

Water

Low

Beaver County Radio reported that data center investors are drawn to Beaver Valley brownfields in part for Ohio River water to cool their buildings.

Beaver County Radio
Timeline

How it has unfolded

News

Coverage of this project

Sources

Know your rights

In Pennsylvania, the local zoning ordinance sets the route. A conditional use is decided by the elected governing body (supervisors, commissioners or council). A special exception or variance, and an appeal of a zoning officer’s decision, go to the Zoning Hearing Board. Each is a public hearing on a record: affected neighbors can ask for party status, cross-examine witnesses, and appeal. Municipalities can also adopt data center ordinances with enforceable standards.

Know your rights →

Take action

Organized community opposition is the single most effective check on these projects in Pennsylvania. Show up to hearings, submit comment when it is taken, support legal and expert-witness costs, and press your municipality for a real ordinance. Pennsylvania municipalities cannot simply freeze applications, but a curative amendment under the Planning Code gives them a defined window to fix a defective ordinance.

How communities push back →