Keel Infrastructure has ended Bitcoin mining at the Panther Creek waste-coal power site in Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania, as it pursues a 350-megawatt AI data center campus on nearby land. The company confirmed the shutdown to local media on October 9, 2026, although its SEC filing identifies June 29 as the date mining stopped.

Panther Creek was part of a mining-and-power business acquired through Bitfarms’ purchase of Stronghold Digital Mining. Keel, formerly Bitfarms, also discontinued mining at its Scrubgrass and Sharon sites on June 29 while shifting investment toward high-performance computing and artificial intelligence.

What the 350 MW capacity means

Keel’s Panther Creek campus plan describes 350 MW of secured electricity capacity across 336 acres, with expansion potential to 510 MW. That 350 MW is planned campus power access, not electricity already produced by the waste-coal plant or proof that a data center is operating.

The distinction matters. In its second-quarter filings, Keel reported approximately 60 gross megawatts of energized capacity at Panther Creek as of June 30, with no energy supply agreement for that capacity. The proposed campus, by contrast, relies on a larger utility-power development involving PPL and the regional grid.

The older power plant has its own unresolved status. A Keel representative told the Times News that the cogeneration facility remained in a maintenance outage in October and that plans for its existing structures were not yet available. Ending Bitcoin mining does not establish that the coal-fired power equipment has been permanently retired.

Plant outage and pending data center permits

The planned Carbon Node East development still faces regulatory steps. Nesquehoning granted conditional preliminary land-development approval, while the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection held an August hearing on stormwater and waterway applications affecting streams and wetlands.

Residents have raised concerns about noise, water, land disturbance and the impact of a large computing campus on the surrounding area. Keel has said it intends to continue working with local authorities as plans advance.

The company has described 2027 as an early development milestone, but a local project briefing anticipated construction beginning in 2027 only if the necessary permits are issued. No completed AI campus or commercial HPC operation at Panther Creek has been confirmed.

The transition reflects a broader shift across the former mining sector: Keel is also redeveloping a former Bitcoin mining site at Moses Lake. In Pennsylvania, the immediate question is whether electricity access, permits and commercial agreements can turn an old mining campus into an operating AI facility.

BitcoinVersus.Tech — Independent reporting on Bitcoin mining, energy and computing infrastructure.

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