Quantum Frederick, a 2,100 acre “data center city,” is currently under construction only a few miles south of Frederick, MD. But what are the details of the project? And what implications does it have for Frederick’s environment and communities?
The Proposed Project
In 2021, data center developer Quantum Loophole and real estate company TPG Real Estate purchased the 2,100-acre former site of Alcoa Eastalco Works, a retired aluminum manufacturing plant located in Frederick, Maryland. The plant opened in 1969, and in 1983, cyanide and fluoride groundwater contamination was discovered onsite. In 1992, Eastalco signed a consent order, outlining the plant’s remediation obligations. Between 2003 and 2005, five historical waste disposal sites were discovered on the premises, including buried debris with elevated levels of hazardous chemicals. In 2005, the plant stopped aluminum production, and the site permanently closed in 2010. The plant was demolished in 2017.
Because of the site’s history of environmental contamination, it is classified as a brownfield site—a plot of land whose redevelopment is complicated by the presence of pollutants, contaminants, or hazardous materials. The area around the site is considered to be overburdened and underserved, largely due to pollution associated with the plant.
In 2021, TPG Real Estate bought the former Alcoa site. Their ultimate plan is to turn the site into a massive “data center city,” providing energy, water, and land for data center developers to buy or lease. These developers would then develop hyperscale data centers in the park, either for their own use (such as Amazon), or for outside clients (such as Aligned Data Centers). Customers will also have access to the planned QLoop project, a 40-mile fiber-optic connection to data centers in Northern Virginia. When completed, the campus is expected to have a combined energy demand of 2,400 MW: more than the 2024 average electricity demand of Montgomery and Prince George’s counties combined.
There are currently four data center projects in development as part of the campus.
Aligned Maryland
Aligned Maryland is a data center campus under development by Aligned Data Centers on a 75-acre parcel of the Quantum Frederick park. Aligned Data Centers ultimately plans to build four data center buildings, with a combined energy demand of 260 MW. Aligned broke ground on the first building (IAD-04) in February 2025 and began constructing its second building (IAD-06) in October 2025.
AWS BWI (Rowan Bauxite I)
AWS BWI is a data center campus under development by Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Rowan Digital Infrastructure on a 151-acre parcel of the campus. AWS plans to build four buildings with a combined energy demand of 300 MW.
Rowan Bauxite II and III
Rowan Bauxite II and III are data center buildings under development by Rowan Digital Infrastructure. Bauxite II will consist of four data center buildings and Bauxite III will consist of three buildings. Neither campus has reported expected energy demand, but each will likely need at least 100 MW.
Aligned Data Centers and Diesel Generators
In 2022, Aligned Data Centers announced that it would be the first developer to build a data center at the Quantum Frederick Park. Its development efforts, however, quickly hit a major regulatory roadblock when the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) denied Aligned’s application to build 168 diesel backup generators. At the time, diesel generators over 2 MW were legally considered to be “generating stations,” and required a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN), which involves a long approval process. Aligned applied for an exemption from the CPCN, which was denied by the PSC due to the generators’ expected environmental impact. Aligned then announced it was pulling out of the Quantum Frederick project.
In 2024, however, Governor Moore signed the Critical Infrastructure Streamlining Act. This law exempts diesel backup generators from the CPCN requirement that caused Aligned to back out of the project. Later that year, Aligned announced that it would move forward with its data center at Quantum Frederick, and in 2025, the Maryland Department of the Environment approved an application for 172 diesel backup generators.
Data Center Referendum
In Frederick County, data center development has historically been limited to industrial zones, such as the one near the Quantum Frederick. In January 2026, the Frederick County Council decided to create one Critical Digital Infrastructure Overlay Zone around the Quantum Frederick site as the only part of the county where data center development is permitted. Although this change prevents theoretical data center development in other parts of the county, it also expands the available area for the Quantum Frederick campus by nearly 1,000 acres. This would include aquatic habitats such as wetlands and streams, which would be put at risk of pollution or even destruction by nearby data center construction.
Right: Frederick’s Critical Digital Infrastructure Overlay Zone, with nearly 1,000 more acres of space available for data center development
Source: Frederick County Ordinance No. 26-01-001
This expansion led to major pushback from Frederick residents. Community members quickly organized into the Frederick County Data Center Referendum Committee, which began collecting signatures to bring the overlay zone expansion to the ballot. By April 3, 2026, the Committee was able to collect more than 21,000 signatures (over 5,000 more than the legal requirement), and the Frederick County Board of Elections determined that the referendum met the requirements to be placed on the ballot. This means that a simple majority of Frederick voters would be able to overturn the overlay zone expansion during the next general election.
However, in early April, five lawsuits were filed by data center developers hoping to overturn the certification of the referendum. On June 19th, Frederick County Judge James A. Bonifant ruled against the referendum committee, determining that ordinances are not “laws” and therefore not subject to referendum. Bonifant also ruled that because the maps on the referendum petition were not printed in color, it was not clearly legible. The Referendum Committee has appealed the ruling to the Maryland Supreme Court, who will hear the case on June 30.
Sediment Pollution
The Quantum Frederick construction process has also been subject to environmental controversy. In April 2024, drilling from QLoop construction caused major contamination of nearby streams and waterways. Boring crews were found to be releasing drilling fluid into nearby waterways in events called frac-outs. This includes bentonite, which is non-toxic but can coat the bottom of rivers and streams, smothering aquatic plant and animal life. The drilling company neither reported these frac-outs nor stopped drilling upon their discovery, as is their legal obligation.
These frac-outs are far from the project’s only environmental violations. Since construction began, the Quantum Frederick site has been found to either be in noncompliance or in need of corrective action in at least 67 other MDE site inspections. Violations included improper storage of sediments, illegal sediment discharge into waterways, operating without a permit, and more.
Nature Reserve Project Apparent Cancellation
In the early stages of Quantum Frederick’s development, the project was marketed as a “sustainable data center community,” touting the site’s “environmentally conscious development.” These claims were backed up by a commitment to build a 600-acre public nature reserve onsite in collaboration with the University of Maryland with trails, restored streams, and over one million trees.
However, the original developer of Quantum Frederick site, Quantum Loophole, was pushed out of the project in 2024 after a legal dispute with their partner, and Catellus Development Corporation was appointed as the site’s lead developer going forward. Shortly after, a contract with the University of Maryland to design the nature reserve was cancelled, putting its future in doubt. Catellus has yet to publicly address plans for the nature reserve or the contract cancellation. Once a key part of the site’s marketing, the nature reserve has conspicuously disappeared completely from the Quantum Frederick’s public plans, throwing into question the developer’s sustainability promises.
Quantum Frederick Future
As of June 2026, none of Quantum Frederick data centers are yet operational; however, Aligned Data Centers, Rowan Digital Infrastructure, and AWS have all broken ground on their respective data center campuses, and these sites may be completed in the next few years. Other developers may also begin to develop other data center campuses on the site.
The data center overlay zone expansion referendum is currently going through the appeal process, and the Maryland Supreme Court will hear the case on June 30. If the referendum beats its legal challenges, it will go to a public vote on the November 3rd general election ballot.
Only time will tell the extent of Quantum Frederick’s impacts on nearby communities. However, it is essential that action is taken to make sure that those most affected—including the overburdened and underserved communities in the vicinity—have the power to decide their own fate.
Take Action
Want to stay up to date on Quantum Frederick and other data center projects in Maryland? Here’s how you can get involved
- Sign up for Nature Forward’s Action Alerts to stay up to date with the latest Maryland Data Center news and learn how to get involved
- Track Quantum Frederick’s permits and other relevant documents
- Are you a Frederick County Resident? Contact your County Councilperson and let them know your concerns with Quantum Frederick, the CDI-OZ expansion, and data center development in general. You can find your councilperson here.
- Stay up to date with community organizations involved in opposing the project, including: