Pennsylvanians Blast Nearly 60 Data Center Plans as 68% Oppose AI Sites Nearby
Updated
Updated · Ars Technica · May 15
Pennsylvanians Blast Nearly 60 Data Center Plans as 68% Oppose AI Sites Nearby
6 articles · Updated · Ars Technica · May 15
More than 20 speakers at a two-hour online town hall, watched by about 225 people, denounced Pennsylvania’s fast data-center buildout and accused the state of sidelining residents.
Critics tied the surge to higher electricity prices, heavy water use, noise and rural industrialization, framing it as a transparency and public-trust problem as projects advance before communities fully understand them.
Gov. Josh Shapiro drew repeated fire for courting data centers while proposing guardrails, with some former supporters saying the issue could cost him political backing.
Pennsylvania has nearly 60 data centers proposed, approved or under construction, and organized resistance is growing fast—the Pennsylvania Data Center Resistance Facebook group has expanded from a few dozen members in January to more than 12,000.
Polling shows the backlash sharpens close to home: an Emerson survey in November found statewide opinion split 38%-35%, while a February Quinnipiac poll found 68% would oppose an AI data center in their community.
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