AWS BWI data center, Frederick, Maryland

AWS BWI, an Amazon Web Services data center building at 5601 Manor Woods Rd in Frederick, Frederick County, Maryland, is under construction inside the Quantum Frederick data center park. The Maryland Department of the Environment approved an air permit for the building's 99 diesel backup generators on March 25, 2026, and barred the generators from running as a primary power source. "We heard the concerns of residents, and are confident that this permit protects air quality and public health," said Secretary of the Environment Serena McIlwain.

The building sits inside Quantum Frederick, the county's biggest fight over data centers. County Executive Jessica Fitzwater rejected a $110 million community benefits deal from the developer, Quantum Maryland, on September 14, 2026, after residents told her they did not want more data center decisions made before a new county council took office. "So today, I am also extending the moratorium on data center applications until July 1st, 2027," Fitzwater said. The rejected deal would have paid for $30 million in Carroll Manor Elementary School renovations, a $40 million community center and $14.5 million for workforce training.

Two weeks earlier, on September 1, 2026, the county announced Catellus had agreed to shrink its planned buildout of the Eastalco site from 18.3 million square feet to 15 million square feet. More than 21,000 residents had signed an earlier petition for a referendum on the county's data centers, though the Maryland Supreme Court struck it down as too unclear, and the issue is now central to Frederick County's 2026 elections.