Massena: 635MW Alcoa East Green Hyperscale Data Center New York
Status: Under Planning Review / Environmental Permitting Phase | Location: Former Alcoa East Industrial Site, St. Lawrence County
Project Overview
The Massena Alcoa East Hyperscale AI Campus stands as one of the most ambitious industrial brownfield reclamation projects in North America, converting a historic smelting site into a massive 635-megawatt (MW) digital infrastructure hub. Formally advanced into local planning reviews in June 2026, this multi-structure campus is specifically designed to meet the explosive computing demands of next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) training and heavy inference workloads. By positioning the campus at the former Alcoa East industrial complex in St. Lawrence County, the development capitalizes on northern New York’s abundant, low-cost zero-carbon hydroelectric and wind power resources, aligning the campus with strict modern corporate sustainability mandates.
The architectural layout spans three ultra-large-scale structures engineered specifically for high-density GPU cluster deployment. The primary footprint comprises three specialized buildings ranging from 400,000 to 535,000 square feet, offering more than 1.4 million square feet of specialized data hall space. To accommodate power densities exceeding 40kW to 100kW per rack, the engineering design bypasses traditional air-cooling limits in favor of a specialized hybrid direct-to-chip liquid cooling infrastructure. This loop utilizes the region’s naturally cool ambient temperatures to minimize energy consumption, targeting a highly efficient Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of less than 1.12.
Quick Facts
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Project Name | Massena: 635MW Alcoa East Green Hyperscale Data Center New York |
| Location | Former Alcoa East Industrial Site, St. Lawrence County |
| Status | Under Planning Review / Environmental Permitting Phase |
| Commissioning | 2028 (Phase 1 Target Go-Live) |
| Total IT Load | 500 MW |
| Total Capacity | 635 MW Master Planned Power Footprint |
| Tier Level | Tier III+ High-Density Hyperscale Specification |
| Project Type | Brownfield Industrial Reclamation / Mega-Scale AI Inference & Training Campus |
City Profile
| Header | Details |
|---|
| City Name | New York |
| Population | Approximately 8.5 million |
| Urban Agglomeration | Approximately 20.1 million |
| City GDP | Approximately US$2.1 trillion |
| Per Capita Income | Approximately US$95,000 |
| City Tier | Tier 1 – Global Financial, Technology & Business Hub |
| Key Strengths | World's leading financial center |
Companies Involved
| Header | Details |
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| Developer / Operator | Massena Digital Infrastructure Partners |
| Strategic Infrastructure Partner | New York Power Authority (NYPA) / Local Clean Energy Providers |
| Construction Contractor | Leading North American Heavy Industrial EPC Contractor |
| MEP Engineering | Specialized Liquid Cooling Infrastructure Architects & High-Voltage Grid Engineers |
| Network Connectivity | Ultra-diverse dark fiber routes linking directly to major trans-border trunk lines and northeastern metropolitan internet exchanges |
| Power Infrastructure | High-voltage interconnection via dedicated on-site substations tapping into regional hydro and wind transmission lines |
Technical Specifications
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| Power Capacity | 635 MW total master-planned grid allocation (500 MW continuous IT load capacity) |
| UPS Redundancy | Distributed N+1 block redundant static UPS systems paired with rapid-charge industrial lithium-ion deployment |
| Cooling System | Closed-loop direct-to-chip liquid cooling backed by ambient air-cooled heat exchangers (Zero municipal process water consumption) |
| Connectivity | Carrier-neutral infrastructure with multiple diverse-path underground meet-me rooms |
| PUE Target | < 1.12 (Optimized via northern climate free-air cooling loops) |
| Energy Mix | 100% renewable baseline power sourced directly from regional hydroelectric and wind assets |
Milestones
| Header | Details |
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| Announcement | June 2026 (Formal presentation to Massena Planning Board) |
| Construction Start | Q2 2027 (Anticipated following final NYISO grid study and environmental approvals) |
| Phase 1 Go-Live | H2 2028 |
| Full Buildout | 2031 |
Investment Details
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| Total Investment | $4.2 Billion USD (Estimated total capital expenditure across all three development phases) |
| Funding | Private equity digital infrastructure funds, joint-venture institutional capital, and green infrastructure bonds |