Slate Belt Holdings data center campus (Upper Mount Bethel Township)
Also called: River Pointe Data Center, River Pointe Logistics Center, Talen Slate Belt Holdings campus, Amazon data center at River Pointe (earlier, dropped 2025)
Slate Belt Holdings, a partnership of Talen Energy and the River Pointe Logistics team, wants to build up to 23 data center buildings on about 754 acres near Bangor. Each building would be about 201,500 square feet. The company is challenging the township's zoning rules in front of the zoning hearing board.
Where things stand: Developer filed a challenge (July 2026) saying township zoning unlawfully shuts out data centers; a zoning hearing board hearing was expected in fall 2026. No approvals yet.
🕒 Latest update (Aug 24, 2026): Supervisors voted 3-2 not to drop talks on a non-binding deal (memorandum of understanding) with the developer. They also said they would fight the zoning challenge. The developer gave the township 30 more days on the challenge.
What we know
- 📍 WhereRiver Pointe Logistics Center site (former Portland Generating Station land) outside Bangor, Upper Mount Bethel Township, Northampton County
- 🏢 CompanySlate Belt Holdings LLC
- 🏛️ Owned byPartnership of Talen Energy and the River Pointe Logistics team
- 🌳 Size754 acres
- ⚡ Power it needs480 megawatts (about as much as 384,000 homes)
- 🔌 Where the power comes fromPlanned 480 megawatt substation on site; Talen's Lower Mount Bethel gas power plant is nearby
❓ Still unanswered
Nobody has answered these in public yet. Can you help find out?
- What approvals has it applied for? 🙋 I'll find out
- What would the memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the township include, and will supervisors sign it? 🙋 I'll find out
🔎 What we checked
- Oct 6, 2026: We checked the Delaware River Basin Commission's (DRBC) list of pending applications (August 2026): there is no application for this data center. DRBC said in November 2025 it had not received any data center applications. A data center needs its own DRBC approval only if it takes more than 100,000 gallons a day from its own wells or streams, or discharges more than 50,000 gallons a day (lower limits in some protected areas). Buying water from a water company does not need a separate DRBC approval.
What happened so far
- 2019River Pointe bought the land to build an industrial park (it once planned up to 15 buildings).
- April 28, 2025Township supervisors said Amazon, long rumored to want a data center at River Pointe, had dropped it because there was not enough power.
- April 2026Slate Belt Holdings (Talen Energy and River Pointe) bought about 755 acres from River Pointe.
- July 2026Slate Belt Holdings filed a zoning challenge with the township zoning hearing board, showing plans for 23 data center buildings on 754 acres.
- Aug 24, 2026Supervisors voted 3-2 not to drop talks on a non-binding deal (memorandum of understanding) with the developer. They also said they would fight the zoning challenge. The developer gave the township 30 more days on the challenge.
Local votes and rules
📜 Data center rules
Upper Mount Bethel Township is working on rules for data centers. As of March 2026 the draft was still under review and not yet passed.
Drag the slider to compare the land before and now.
Where this comes from
- Slate Belt Holdings Technology Campus (Upper Mount Bethel) · More Than Just Parks Data Center Tracker · July 28, 2026
- Talen looks to develop 23-building data center campus in Pennsylvania · BIC Magazine (DCD syndication) · Aug 10, 2026
- Data center uncertain in Northampton Co. · Times News · Sept 1, 2026
- UMBT supervisors say Amazon data center deal is dead · WFMZ-TV 69 · April 28, 2025
- PA Data Center Permit Tracker - all projects list ('River Pointe Data Center', Proposed, no applications received) · Pennsylvania DEP · Oct 6, 2026
- Nearly 2 dozen data center buildings: Filing gives glimpse of possible development in rural Northampton · WFMZ-TV 69 News · July 28, 2026
- Frequently Asked Questions: Data Centers · Delaware River Basin Commission · Nov 24, 2025
- DRBC Project Review: Pending Project Status (August 2026) · Delaware River Basin Commission · Aug 2026
See something wrong? Tell us and we'll fix it.