TECfusions Upper Burrell (Alcoa Site)
Upper Burrell Township, Westmoreland County
A data center project in Upper Burrell Township, Westmoreland County.
The project by the numbers
Under construction in Upper Burrell Township, Westmoreland County
- Current stage
- Operating under a research and technology park designation while the township runs a 180-day moratorium and drafts a data center ordinance.
- Decision body
- Upper Burrell Township
- Top issues
- Residents and officials have focused on what remains in the ground from the site's industrial past, water use, continuous mechanical noise, and emissions from backup generation.
TECfusions (Florida) converting first of several old buildings into AI center; plans to convert rest and possibly construct new ones. First building converting underway. TECfusions, based in Tampa, acquired 1,395 acres in Upper Burrell including the former Alcoa and Arconic research and development campus, announced January 14, 2025 as TECfusions Keystone Connect, with plans for 3 GW of natural-gas-fired capacity deployed over six years and 12 MW available immediately. The company received a $2 million Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant. State Rep. Jill Cooper and Sen. Joe Pittman both welcomed the project. TECfusions has leased space to the AI cloud platform TensorWave, eventually slated for about 1 GW. In May 2026 the township adopted a 180-day moratorium, and July 2026 reporting found officials still seeking answers: the company says cooling will be closed-loop and filled primarily with glycol with power from on-site gas wells, and told TribLIVE that township officials describing water use 'must have been mistaken.' Absent a data center ordinance, current operations are treated as a research and technology park, an allowed use in the industrial zone. Full build-out could take decades.
Coverage of this project
- 2026-07-04 TribLIVESkepticism remains, answers hard to come by for long-term plan of Upper Burrell data centerTownship moratorium, disputed water use, TensorWave lease, no data center ordinance
- 2025-01-17 Pittsburgh Business Times via WPXITECfusions buys former Alcoa research facility for data center campusAcquisition of the 1,395-acre Alcoa R&D campus
- 2025-01-14 PA Environment DigestTECfusions Unveils Massive 1,400-Acre Data Center Project With 3 Gigawatts Of Natural Gas-Fired Power Generation In Westmoreland CountyAnnouncement; 3 GW over six years, $2M RACP grant
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 →