Holtwood + Safe Harbor Hydropower (Google PPA)
Multiple (Holtwood Twp / Safe Harbor), Lancaster + York County
A 670 megawatt project operating or being built at Multiple (Holtwood Township and Safe Harbor), Lancaster and York County.
The project by the numbers
Running today in Multiple (Holtwood Township and Safe Harbor), Lancaster and York County
- Current stage
- Power purchase agreements executed; Holtwood relicensing pending before FERC.
- Decision body
- Multiple (Holtwood Twp / Safe Harbor)
- Top issues
- Residents and officials have focused on the size of the electrical load and what it does to regional capacity costs, water use, continuous mechanical noise, and emissions from backup generation.
Brookfield Renewable (BIF III Holtwood LLC) → Google 20-yr PPA. Holtwood 252 MW + Safe Harbor 417.5 MW = 670 MW. Part of Brookfield's 3 GW Hydro Framework Agreement with Google (Google's $25B PJM-region investment). Holtwood FERC license expires Aug 31 2030. Google and Brookfield signed a Hydro Framework Agreement on July 15, 2025 for up to 3,000 MW of hydroelectric capacity nationally, described as the largest corporate clean power deal for hydroelectricity. The first contracts under it are 20-year power purchase agreements for Brookfield's Holtwood and Safe Harbor facilities on the Susquehanna River, together about 670 MW and more than $3 billion in value, supporting Google's operations across PJM. Holtwood, about 250 MW, is the oldest of the region's three major dams, built between 1905 and 1910. The structure lets Brookfield keep existing commitments including Amtrak supply from Safe Harbor, and licensee BIF III Holtwood LLC is pursuing relicensing through FERC's Integrated Licensing Process. This is a power procurement rather than a Pennsylvania data center site.
Coverage of this project
- 2025-07-15 Brookfield Asset ManagementBrookfield and Google Sign Hydro Framework Agreement to Deliver up to 3,000 MW of Homegrown Energy in the United States20-year PPAs for Holtwood and Safe Harbor, 670 MW, over $3B
- 2025-07-15 Utility DiveGoogle to buy up to 3 GW of hydro power from BrookfieldFramework covers PJM and MISO; Holtwood is 250 MW
- 2025-07-15 Renewable Energy WorldBrookfield and Google just signed the largest hydropower deal in world historyRelicensing through FERC's Integrated Licensing Process; Amtrak supply preserved
Know your rights
In Pennsylvania, a data center on industrial land usually needs a special exception or conditional use, decided by a local Zoning Hearing Board after a public, quasi-judicial hearing. Neighbors can request party status, cross-examine witnesses, and build an evidentiary record. Municipalities can also write 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 ask your municipality for a moratorium and a real ordinance.
How communities push back →