The national rise of AI data centers is causing resistance

Archbald is a small corner in northeastern Pennsylvania where coal used to be big business. But now there’s a new boom: data centers.

Kayleigh Cornell, a teacher, and Sarah Gabriel, an ICU nurse, run a neighborhood association in this community of 7,000, where a half-dozen data centers have been proposed. “It’s a really nice town,” Gabriel said. “It feels like home.”

Cornell said, “I just really like it, and I can’t imagine being anywhere else.”

But they, and others, are concerned about the potential impact of data centers on the environment, their electricity bills and the character of the city.

Gabriel said: ‘It’s going to completely change the landscape. Wherever there are trees, there probably won’t be any more.”

Cornell says they are determined: “We will stop it if we can help it.”

It won’t be easy to stop it. Demand is huge: tech companies say they need these massive structures, packed with computing power, to fuel the AI ​​revolution. So developers are rushing to build them in places like Archbald – rich in land, water and energy. But there is an increasingly heated debate about the scale of employment and the income it generates. And many communities are on edge because of rising electricity bills.

In Archbald, the push to slow things down has turned local politics upside down. At a town meeting on March 10, where many held up signs reading “No data centers,” residents shouted at representatives of the proposed centers to “get out of here.”

“We decided: go home!” One woman screamed.

One project, an application for a campus of 18 data centers, has hit a roadblock.

Sarah Gabriel says fighting AI superpowers wasn’t part of her plan: “We’re not against AI data centers. But because the industry is so new and unregulated, it’s worrying that if we keep moving forward, we’ll reach a point of no return.”

Elsewhere, data centers are already a way of life, with more than 4,000 (and counting) across the country, and many more coming around the world.

In Loudoun County, Virginia, known as “Data Center Alley,” there seem to be anonymous, sci-fi-esque buildings everywhere. One is just over a million square feet – big enough to park two aircraft carriers.

Andy Power, president and CEO of Digital Realty, which owns and operates hundreds of data centers worldwide, says the data center industry is valued at hundreds of billions of dollars and “represents the breakthroughs that cure new diseases that, for example, will essentially improve the quality of life.”

Asked to respond to those who don’t want data centers in their community, Power responded, “I would say, ‘I completely understand. Let me tell you why this location makes the most sense for the data centers. And this infrastructure will help change the world you live in today and for years to come.'”

In Washington, there are fierce critics who are calling for a moratorium on data center construction until Congress passes stricter AI rules. Last month, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent representative, and New York Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Data Center Moratorium Act.

“I fear that Congress is completely unprepared for the magnitude of the changes that are already happening,” Sanders said.

But President Trump and many Republicans say data centers are essential for our future economy.

Senator Dave McCormick, a Republican from Pennsylvania, has worked to bring data center investments to his home state. He calls American leadership in AI “the most important question facing our country.”

“I think the net benefit to Pennsylvania is enormous,” he said.

McCormick adds that data centers should work with – not against – communities, but wants companies to build in his state. “There must be a covenant,” he said. “There has to be a commitment that goes from the community to those developing in the community about what kind of jobs they’re going to create; how they’re going to protect the environment; how they’re going to protect the water supply; how they’re going to protect energy costs. When a community looks at the totality of the jobs, the tax revenue, the new roads, the libraries, the schools, the job opportunities for their children, I think these are pretty compelling.”

Back in Archbald, the data centers continue to advance, and for Kayleigh Cornell and Sarah Gabriel it’s a reality they struggle with every day

“People live here because of the quality of life,” Cornell said. ‘Yes, of course you need jobs. But again, this would intrinsically change the character of Archbald Borough.”

When asked if they feel they have a chance to stop it, Gabriel said, “Yes, absolutely.”

“We have no other alternative,” Cornell said. “I mean, it’s our home. We have to fight.’

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Story produced by Amol Mhatre. Editor: Chad Cardin.

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