Amazon Introduces Potential Calvert County Data Center, Emphasizes Infrastructure, Workforce And Growth

PRINCE FREDERICK, Md. — Amazon Web Services (AWS) representatives outlined a potential data center campus near the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant during a community open house Thursday, discussing infrastructure capacity, workforce development and economic benefits for Calvert County while noting that no formal proposal has yet been submitted.

Speaking at the event inside Calvert Middle School, Becky Ford of Amazon Web Services’ economic development team told residents the company is evaluating a potential partnership with Constellation Energy near the nuclear power plant just east of Maryland Route 4.

“We are here to talk about a potential project with Constellation Energy at a site adjacent to their existing facility here in Calvert County,” Ford said. “There are no existing agreements in place between Amazon and Calvert County, and this is still very much a project we are evaluating.”

Ford said Amazon conducted preliminary review work, including regulatory analysis, site evaluation and early design concepts, but emphasized that the project remained in early stages and that no site plans had been submitted to the county.

Amazon Highlights Maryland Investment

Amazon representatives shared broader data about the company’s existing footprint in Maryland, framing the Calvert County discussion within a larger infrastructure and workforce investment strategy.

According to materials distributed at the meeting, Amazon has invested $19.4 billion in Maryland since 2010, contributing $17.3 billion to the state’s gross domestic product (GDP) while supporting approximately 23,000 jobs and an estimated 9,000 indirect positions in construction, logistics and professional services. These investments included Amazon’s overall portfolio and were not limited to data center operations.

A recent Maryland Tech Council report, citing a SAGE Policy Group analysis, noted that data centers could expand Maryland’s tax base, create high-paying jobs and support economic growth without raising taxes or increasing public service demand.

Amazon officials also highlighted workforce initiatives, noting more than 425,000 U.S. employees have participated in education and training programs since 2019, including partnerships with 11 Maryland institutions.

For Calvert County, similar development could translate into long-term tax revenue, skilled trades employment and supply-chain growth, while positioning Southern Maryland as part of the expanding Mid-Atlantic technology corridor supporting cloud computing, artificial intelligence and regional digital infrastructure.

Amazon materials distributed during the meeting also described data centers as critical infrastructure supporting digital services such as banking, communications, healthcare, transportation and education. The materials noted that modern services such as telehealth, emergency communications and cloud-based learning rely on data center infrastructure to function reliably.

Site Selection Focuses On Existing Infrastructure

Ford said that the Calvert County site was selected in part because it is already zoned for heavy industrial use, which meant no rezoning would be required if the project moves forward, and it is close to an existing nuclear power plant. The preliminary concept under consideration included up to eight buildings, but Ford said the layout could change as design work continues.

“This location was chosen based on proximity to energy requirements, the ability to reuse water and access to skilled and available workforce,” Ford said.

Mason Emnett, senior vice president of public policy for Constellation Energy, said the company is supporting Amazon Web Services’ early community engagement because AWS is evaluating the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant site as a potential long-term customer location.

“AWS is interested in being a potential customer of ours, potentially sited at the Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant,” Emnett said. “We’ve got a lot of land available around Calvert Cliffs, and we’ve been thinking about hosting a customer there for some time — using that excess land to create economic development opportunities while also providing an anchor tenant for a long-term customer arrangement.”

Emnett said Constellation has long considered using available land around the Calvert Cliffs facility for economic development opportunities that could also help support continued operation of the nuclear plant. He explained that pairing large energy users such as data centers with nuclear generation can help ensure long-term plant viability, while also creating jobs and investment in the surrounding community.

“Having the long-term financial security associated with a customer commitment ensures that we’re going to keep the plant running, the jobs are going to stay in place, and we’re going to have opportunities to expand,” Emnett said.

Water Use And Cooling

Water use was among the most common concerns raised by residents prior to the meeting, Ford said, with more than 300 questions submitted through a county portal.

Ford explained that Amazon’s proposed cooling approach at the Calvert site would rely largely on air-cooled systems, with water used only during limited periods.

“In regard to cooling water, 96% of the year we cool our data centers with air, free flowing air from the outside,” Ford said. “The other 4% of the time, we’ll use that cooling water to help cool down the air, and that air will cool the equipment in the data center itself.”

Emnett said any potential data center at the Calvert Cliffs site would rely on Constellation’s existing cooling water supply rather than requiring new water withdrawals. He explained that the nuclear plant already uses Chesapeake Bay water for cooling, and a data center customer next door would tap into that existing process, allowing water to be shared and reused before being returned to the bay under the same environmental and regulatory requirements.

“If we were to host a customer at the site, they would tap into our existing water system,” Emnett said. “It would essentially be recycled and reused for cooling, then returned to the bay under the same environmental requirements.”

This potential relationship with Calvert Cliffs reinforced Ford’s comment that “in this particular case, one of the biggest benefits of this project is that there is no new water required to cool our data centers. We’ll use water from Constellation’s existing process.”

Amazon materials said the company has reduced reliance on water-based cooling by nearly 40% in recent years.

Power Infrastructure And Energy Reliability

Mike Fradette, principal for AWS energy strategy, said access to reliable power is one of the most important factors in selecting data center locations.

Fradette said the Constellation site is unique because of its proximity to the Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant and multiple high-voltage transmission lines.

“This campus is unique in that it’s located directly adjacent to an existing nuclear power facility,” Fradette said. “This provides a good opportunity for a data center to secure highly reliable, scalable power.”

Fradette also emphasized that Amazon would fund its own power infrastructure, including substations and step-down facilities, and would pay transmission costs regardless of electricity usage. He said AWS also aims to operate efficiently, citing a global power usage effectiveness (PUE) of 1.15, which he said is more efficient than industry averages.

Emnett also addressed concerns about electricity costs, saying the project would connect to the existing power grid like other large customers and could potentially help stabilize or lower system costs by spreading infrastructure expenses across increased energy demand.

“A customer would connect to the grid just like at any other location,” Emnett said. “Those arrangements often tend to lower costs across the system because fixed infrastructure costs are recovered over a larger amount of electricity use.”

In Amazon’s Calvert County overview materials distributed at the meeting, the company said it works with utilities and grid operators to plan for power and infrastructure improvements, including new substations and transmission upgrades, and those investments can extend beyond a company’s immediate needs to help strengthen the broader grid. 

Amazon’s handout also cited an independent study it said found the company pays the costs to power its data centers and that those expenses are not added to local residential or business electric bills.

Amazon spokesperson Nicole Morales also emphasized that Amazon typically pays for power infrastructure upgrades associated with new data center development, including transmission lines, substations and grid improvements, and said the company works with utilities and regulators to ensure costs are not passed on to residential ratepayers.

“Amazon pays its full electricity costs while making substantial investments in building new energy generation and transmission infrastructure,” Morales said. “That helps ensure the costs of serving our data centers are fully paid by Amazon, not by households or small businesses.”

Amazon officials highlighted broader sustainability efforts, including investments in renewable energy, battery storage and nuclear technologies, as part of its goal to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.

Workforce Development And Job Creation

Ford said workforce development is central to AWS investments, with partnerships typically formed with high schools, community colleges and workforce training programs. She said a project of the scale currently under consideration could create at least 250 long-term operational jobs, with thousands of construction workers involved during the buildout phase.

“Throughout that process, the folks that we hire are typically in the $80,000 to $100,000 pay range,” Ford said. “We’ll be providing workforce training opportunities, not only for our folks, but for folks in construction trades, fiber optic trades and data center operations.”

Morales said AWS data center development typically supports a mix of direct technical jobs, skilled trades positions and broader supply chain employment. She said AWS also partners with education institutions and workforce organizations to prepare local workers for infrastructure and technology careers tied to data center development.

“Our infrastructure brings a number of highly skilled, well-paying jobs to the local economy,” Morales said. “That includes data center engineers, network specialists, engineering operations managers, security specialists and skilled trades such as electricians, fiber-optic technicians and HVAC technicians.”

Union Leaders See Long-Term Skilled Trades Opportunity

Regional union leaders said a potential Calvert County data center would bring years of construction work, strong wages and apprenticeship opportunities for local workers while extending an existing pipeline of data center labor already established in Northern Virginia.

Greg Davis, business agent with Steamfitters Local 602, said his union members have been building data centers since the industry’s early growth in Northern Virginia and sees them as a major source of steady, family-supporting jobs. He said a project of the size discussed in Calvert County could employ 300 to 400 steamfitters during construction, with additional HVAC service work continuing after the buildings are complete.

“This provides good-paying union jobs with good wages and family-sustaining benefits. That’s health care and pension,” Davis said. “After the data centers are built, our members also do HVAC service, so they are in these data centers servicing, maintaining, replacing and repairing the HVAC systems.”

Tom Clark, political director for IBEW Local 26, said electrical work makes up a major share of data center construction and that the union already has nearly 700 Calvert County residents in its ranks, many who currently commute long distances for similar projects. He said a local project would keep more wages and retirement income in the county while giving high school graduates and apprentices a path into well-paid careers.

“They can come out of Calvert High School, join our program for five years and make up to $140,000, $150,000 a year,” Clark said. “That money will stay here.”

Both union leaders emphasized that their organizations provide paid apprenticeship training and benefits including pensions, health care and retirement contributions, which they said make the jobs especially valuable for local families.

Davis said the Steamfitters’ apprentices start over $25 per hour, while full-time members typically make more than $55 per hour after a five-year development period. He said their members also receive full benefits and retirement packages that can add up to more than $80 per hour. 

Clark said IBEW journeymen are making more than $59 per hour and that apprentices are starting over $25 per hour. He estimated a large data center project could keep 100 electricians busy for three years, with additional workers needed later for upgrades and around-the-clock operations support.

County Leaders Highlight Budget Needs And Public Input

Calvert County Commissioner Mark Cox said the current meetings are intended to gather public input and provide information before any formal proposals move forward, emphasizing that no site plans or permits have been submitted for the potential data center location.

“There are no site plans involved at this stage,” Cox said. “There are no permits, there’s nothing in planning — we’re trying to get the community input.”

Cox said Calvert County currently allows facilities like data centers in two heavy industrial-zoned locations — the Constellation Energy site and an area known as Off-Site A, a former laydown area associated with a gas facility. He said proposals remain in early discussion stages and would still need to move through the county’s planning and permitting process.

“In Calvert County, we have zoning in place for two data centers,” Cox said. “One is at Constellation and one is at Off-Site A. That’s the only two places that data centers are allowed.”

Cox also pointed to potential tax revenue as a major factor in the county’s consideration, noting that Calvert County is facing budget pressures related to schools, emergency services and public safety while limiting residential growth density. He said one proposal discussed during recent meetings projected approximately $45 million annually in tax revenue.

“In addition to the annual tax revenue, there could also be roughly $50 million in one-time transfer tax revenue from the property sale,” Cox said. “We are at a flat generation right now in our revenue stream, and we have to look at where the next revenue generation is coming from.”

Kathryn Maney, president and CEO of the Calvert County Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber’s role in the data center discussions is focused on education and ensuring residents have access to verified information before forming opinions.

While emphasizing the exploratory nature of the proposals, Maney said that potential data center development could bring high-skilled jobs, support local businesses and generate revenue that may help strengthen schools, public safety and other county services.

“Based on what’s being discussed, we’re talking about good-paying, highly skilled jobs and opportunities to keep more of our workforce here in Calvert County,” Maney said. “That kind of revenue could help support schools, public safety, and the services that help keep Calvert County special.”

Commissioner Cox also said Amazon’s public meeting was intended to keep the community informed, give residents a voice during the early planning of a possible data center campus, and encourage additional public input. He noted that Calvert County has created a data center information hub on the county website where residents can access updates, submit questions about data centers to county government and review questions and answers from past inquiries.

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