Statement from the Allegheny Conference: Unpacking $90B in Business Investments and Capitalizing on Momentum 

The landmark AI and energy investment announcements — totaling over $90 billion statewide with more than $21 billion of impact for southwestern PA — alongside Senator McCormick’s Energy and Innovation Summit, signal that the Allegheny Conference’s “big bets” strategy is delivering. These investments are not just headlines. They’re shaping the region’s future and setting the stage for a new era of economic growth. 

Thanks to the summit, Pittsburgh is back in the national spotlight—not just as a former industrial powerhouse, but as the heartland of the future. With AI described as the next Manhattan Project and Westinghouse leading a new era of nuclear innovation, our region is positioned to lead across every sector that defines American competitiveness. 

It’s easy to see why: Energy and AI are becoming mutually reinforcing sectors — whether it’s through data centers co-locating near energy sources, advanced nuclear projects led by Westinghouse, or natural gas enabling industrial scale innovation—  and our region’s diverse energy portfolio of natural gas, nuclear, hydro, and battery storage offers the reliability, resilience, and affordability companies need to scale. 

“The Summit’s themes—clean energy, AI, advanced nuclear, domestic production, and resilient supply chains—mirror the Conference’s strategic priorities,” said CEO of the Allegheny Conference, Stefani Pashman. “These aren’t just trends we’re watching; they’re areas where our region is already leading. The takeaway? We’re not just keeping pace — we’re helping set the pace.” 

Investment Rundown 

The summit served as a national platform for major business investments in Pennsylvania. and many others were announced alongside the summit. In total, the Allegheny Conference has tracked $136.2 billion in investments tied to the summit. Highlights include: 

  • Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and Anthropic committed $1 million over three years to support the PicoCTF program that provides cybersecurity education to middle and high school students. In addition, they announced $1 million over three years to support energy research at CMU.  
  • Duquesne Light Company is investing $2.7 billion in Allegheny and Beaver counties over the next 5 years to upgrade the safety, reliability, and resilience of our electrical service and grid infrastructure. 
  • Eaton and Nvidia are partnering on best practices and power management for the next-generation components of artificial intelligence. The collaboration will involve high-voltage infrastructure for data centers and transition to 800 volts and 1 megawatt server racks. 
  • FirstEnergy will invest $15 billion to upgrade power distribution and grid infrastructure across 56 Pennsylvania counties. In partnership with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, FirstEnergy also plans to expand its apprenticeship program. 
  • Frontier Group announced a $3.2-billion plan to convert the former Bruce Mansfield coal plant into a natural gas-powered Shippingport Power Station, creating 15,000 construction jobs and over 300 permanent jobs. The new plant’s natural gas will be supplied by EQT. 
  • Gecko Robotics announced partnerships with U.S. Steel and BPMI. Gecko is partnering with Navy contractor BPMI to build digital twins of defense components for U.S. Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. The company is also exploring collaboration with U.S. Steel on the health of steel mill infrastructure, using Gecko’s advances in AI and robotics.
  • GE Vernova announced plans to invest up to $100 million into its factory in Charleroi, Washington County, to expand its production of critical equipment for the electrical grid and power plants, possibly creating 250 new jobs. 
  • Google will spend $25 billion for regional data centers and AI infrastructure, plus a new “AI Works for Pennsylvania” initiative. 
  • Homer City Redevelopment announced plans to buy $15 billion worth of Pennsylvania natural gas to power four gigawatts of power generation at the Homer City Redevelopment site, creating 1,000 onsite jobs and 10,000 construction jobs. 
  • Meta, in partnership with the Schwartz Center for Entrepreneurship at CMU, is investing to help startups in rural PA. 

Capitalizing on momentum 

Our hope is that the successes coming from the summit continue, generating a “flywheel effect” of other companies and talent coming to our region. However, to fully capitalize on this momentum, we must continue investing in healthy host conditions: Streamlined permitting, business-friendly tax policies, pad-ready development sites, industry-aligned workforce programs and scalable infrastructure for energy and innovation. 

Today, it often takes longer to approve a project than to build it. That’s a competitive disadvantage we can’t afford. Permitting delays stall private investment, inflate project costs and slow job creation — especially in energy, manufacturing and infrastructure. Governor Shapiro has made streamlining permitting a top priority, and Pennsylvania is now part of a bipartisan national effort to modernize outdated processes.   

Creating healthy host conditions and soft landings for businesses and communities is central to the work and mission of the Allegheny Conference. We will continue to align public and private partners to move these investments from announcement to action. 

Miss the summit? Watch the full livestream recording to hear directly from state policymakers and global industry leaders on why they’re choosing our region to do business.