PPL Corp., Blackstone spend $40.4M on possible Luzerne County power plants
PPL Corporation and Blackstone Infrastructure, through their joint venture Phoenix PA Land Holdings LLC, spent over $40 million to acquire more than 500 acres in Jenkins, Plains, and Salem townships in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. The land is intended for possible power plants to meet the rising demand for electricity, particularly from data centers, though no final decisions on generation projects have been made. The venture emphasized that PPL Electric Utilities customers are not funding these activities.
PPL Corporation and Blackstone Infrastructure's joint venture, Phoenix PA Land Holdings LLC, has acquired over 500 acres across Jenkins, Plains, and Salem townships in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, for more than $40 million. The land purchases, totaling $27.75 million for 400-plus acres in Jenkins and Plains townships and $12.66 million for 140-plus acres in Salem Township, are part of an early-stage evaluation for constructing power plants.
Ryan Hill, a spokesman for PPL Corporation, stated that these acquisitions are in response to the increasing demand for electricity in Pennsylvania, driven largely by data center growth and the retirement of existing power plants. He clarified that while the venture is proposing solutions to this need, no final decisions have been made to proceed with specific generation projects. The joint venture, established in July 2025, is owned 51% by PPL and 49% by Blackstone, and it aims to contract with a large customer, such as a data center, before commencing any generation projects.
Hill emphasized that PPL Electric Utilities and its customers are not involved in funding these activities. The properties were purchased by Phoenix PA Land Holdings LLC, an entity organized in March 2025 with PPL executives, including Joseph B. Bergstein Jr., listed as officers. The Salem Township site is strategically located between the Moxie Freedom natural gas power plant and the Susquehanna Steam Electric Station nuclear power plant, the latter being adjacent to Talen Energy's Cumulus data center campus, which Amazon acquired in March 2024. The venture is committed to transparent engagement with local officials and stakeholders should projects move forward.