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Active / Approved

Hitachi Energy Westmoreland County Expansion

Mount Pleasant, Hunker and Greensburg (Westmoreland County), Westmoreland County

Hitachi Energy is expanding its Mount Pleasant switchgear and circuit breaker plant, adding a component plant and lab in Hunker and consolidating service work in Greensburg, with more than 100 new jobs. It's on this tracker because Hitachi says its U.S. factory spending answers surging demand for grid equipment, including demand from AI data centers.

Active / ApprovedBrownfieldSW
At a glance

The project by the numbers

StatusUnder Construction
Capex$ 0.07 B
Permanent jobs, as claimed100
First announced2024-09-23
Target online2026

Hitachi Energy is spending more than $70 million to make more high-voltage grid equipment in Westmoreland County

The number that mattersHitachi calls the Mount Pleasant expansion its largest investment to date in high-voltage products in North America, and it set out to double the plant's capacity for high-voltage switchgear and breakers.
Developer
Hitachi Energy, a Swiss-headquartered grid technology company that's part of Hitachi Ltd., through Hitachi Energy USA Inc. Luca Calamari heads its high-voltage business in North America.
Tenant
This entry is a factory expansion with no data center or tenant, and Hitachi Energy will run the plants itself.
Current stage
Hitachi said in April 2025 that construction would start that year and the Mount Pleasant plant should reach full production capacity in 2026, and in May 2026 it described the $70 million investment as ongoing. We haven't found an announcement that the work is finished.
Decision body
No contested local approval has been reported. Pennsylvania's Department of Community and Economic Development offered a $184,000 Pennsylvania First grant and a $145,000 WEDnetPA training grant, and DEP issued industrial stormwater permit coverage for a Hitachi Energy USA site in Hempfield Township in 2025.
Top issues
Jobs and state incentives, demand for grid equipment as electricity use grows, and the shift to switchgear that doesn't use sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), which Hitachi calls the most potent greenhouse gas.
Key opponents
No organized opposition has been reported.
Key supporters
Gov. Josh Shapiro, DCED Secretary Rick Siger and Jason Rigone, executive director of the Westmoreland County Industrial Development Corporation, all praised the expansion when it was announced on April 8, 2025.

How we got here

On September 23, 2024, Hitachi Energy announced a $60 million expansion of its Mount Pleasant high-voltage switchgear and breaker plant, meant to double production and create about 100 jobs, as part of $155 million in North American investments. On April 8, 2025, the company raised its Pennsylvania commitment to more than $70 million, adding a new high-voltage component plant with a research lab and customer center in Hunker and consolidating its high-voltage service work in Greensburg, and Gov. Josh Shapiro announced more than $329,000 in state grants tied to at least 58 new jobs at Mount Pleasant. DEP issued industrial stormwater coverage for a Hitachi Energy USA site in Hempfield Township in August 2025. In May 2026 the company said the investment, with more than 100 new jobs in Westmoreland County, was still underway.

What is at stake

Impacts raised and open questions

Jobs and tax claims

Medium

The Governor's office says the $70 million expansion will create more than 100 new jobs overall, including at least 58 new full-time jobs at Mount Pleasant, and retain 299 jobs statewide.

Office of Gov. Josh Shapiro

Air quality

Low

The expansion centers on EconiQ switchgear and breakers that don't use sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), which Hitachi calls the most potent greenhouse gas, and includes a new gas management system for switchgear production.

Hitachi Energy

Water

Low

DEP granted new industrial stormwater permit coverage in 2025 for a Hitachi Energy USA site in Hempfield Township, which sets rules for stormwater runoff from industrial activity.

Pennsylvania Bulletin, Vol. 55, No. 32
Timeline

How it has unfolded

  • 2024-09-23Hitachi Energy announced a $60 million expansion of its Mount Pleasant plant to double high-voltage switchgear and breaker production and create about 100 jobs. Hitachi Energy
  • 2025-04-08Hitachi Energy raised its Pennsylvania investment to more than $70 million, adding a Hunker plant and lab and consolidating service work in Greensburg. Hitachi Energy
  • 2025-04-08Gov. Josh Shapiro announced a $184,000 Pennsylvania First grant and a $145,000 WEDnetPA training grant tied to at least 58 new jobs at Mount Pleasant. Office of Gov. Josh Shapiro
  • 2025-05-31DEP published Hitachi Energy USA's new application for industrial stormwater permit coverage at a Hempfield Township site. Pennsylvania Bulletin, Vol. 55, No. 22
  • 2025-08-09DEP reported issuing industrial stormwater coverage PAG036600 to Hitachi Energy USA. Pennsylvania Bulletin, Vol. 55, No. 32
  • 2025-09-04Hitachi announced a $1 billion U.S. manufacturing push it tied to surging demand for grid equipment needed to support AI data center expansion. Hitachi Energy
  • 2026-05-14Hitachi Energy said its more than $70 million Pennsylvania investment and more than 100 new Westmoreland County jobs were still underway. Hitachi Energy
Legal record

Filings and legal actions

  • 2025-05-31
    PAG-03 NPDES general permit for industrial stormwater Pennsylvania DEP Southwest Regional Office · PAG036600

    New industrial stormwater coverage for Hitachi Energy USA's site at 100 Distribution Circle, Mount Pleasant mailing address, in Hempfield Township. The filed date is the Pennsylvania Bulletin publication date of the application.

    Hitachi Energy USA Inc. · Issued (reported August 9, 2025)
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.

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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.

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