Montour County Planning Commission Recommends Against Talen Energy Request To Rezone 870 Acres For A Natural Gas Power Plant Expansion To Feed A.I. Data Centers

On November 19, the Montour County Planning Commission recommended against a Talen Energy request to rezone 870 acres of agricultural land to industrial to expand a natural gas-fired power plant to feed A.I. Data Centers.

Residents packed the room to push back against the proposal.

The Montour County Commissioners will cast a final decision after a public hearing on December 17.

In response to the vote, Food & Water Watch Eastern Pennsylvania Senior Organizer Ginny Marcille-Kerslake issued the following statement--

“The Montour County Commissioners must reject this land giveaway and stand against corporate interests.

“These hyper-scale data centers threaten our drinking water, pollute our air, and drive up energy bills, all while bolstering corporate polluter profits. As communities across the state are increasingly making clear — data centers have no place in Pennsylvania.”

“The unfettered spread of data centers is not a given. Communities are using their power through local zoning and ordinances to push back against these facilities that are meant to serve Big Tech and the fossil fuel industry. 

“Meanwhile our state legislature considers bills like House Bill 502 (Steele-D-Allegheny)  [Read more here] and Senate Bill 939 (Rothman-R-Cumberland) [Read more here] that would steamroll public input by taking away this local zoning control for energy and data center projects. 

“Bills like those threaten local decision-making, leaving residents at the mercy of people who do not have the community’s interest in mind.”

(Photo: Talen Energy Montour natural gas power plant.)

NewsClips:

-- WFMZ: Montour County Planning Commission Votes Against Talen Energy Rezoning Request

-- The Daily Item: Montour County Planning Commission Does Not Recommend Talen Energy Rezoning  [PDF of Article]

Related Articles This Week:

-- NRDC: PJM Grid Members Fail To Recommend Any Of 12 Proposals To Prevent Existing Electric Ratepayers From Bearing The Costs, Reliability Risk Of Soaring A.I. Data Center Energy Demand  [PaEN] 

-- DEP Issues Air Permit For Largest Natural Gas Power Plant In US To Feed Proposed 3,200 Acre Homer City A.I. Data Center Campus In Indiana County  [PaEN]

-- Montour County Planning Commission Recommends Against Talen Energy Request To Rezone 870 Acres For A Natural Gas Power Plant Expansion To Feed A.I. Data Centers  [PaEN] 

-- PUC: Natural Gas Utility Winter Reliability Reports Forecast Slightly Higher Usage, Costs  [PaEN]

-- North American Electric Reliability Corp: Electric Grid At Elevated Risk Of Insufficient Energy Supplies During Extreme Weather Due To Rising A.I. Data Center Demands, 'Precarious' Natural Gas Supplies  [PaEN] 

-- PUC Sets Hearings On PPL Electric Proposed 7% Rate Increase Starting Dec. 8  [PaEN] 

-- Dept. Of Human Services Begins Accepting Applications For Low-Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP)  Dec. 3, After Federal Shutdown Delay  [PaEN] 

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NewsClips:

-- Utility Dive: PJM Members Fail To Agree On A.I. Data Center Interconnection Rules; Board May Develop A Proposal, But Timing Unclear 

-- The Center Square: ‘Ghost’ A.I. Data Center Projects Haunt PJM Power Grid Planners, Raising Energy Costs

-- Utility Dive: North American Electric Reliability Corp: Winter Peak Demand Is Rising Faster Than Resource Additions

-- WHYY: PJM Electrical Grid To Decide Who Pays Bill For Massive A.I. Data Centers

-- PA Capital-Star: A.I. Data Center Growth Drives Communities In PA, Other States To Fight For More Say

-- Reuters: US A.I. Data Center Demand Raising Power Risks This Winter, NERC Says

-- Bloomberg: US Faces Winter Blackout Risks From A.I. Data Centers’ Power Needs, NERC Says

-- Scranton Times - Chris Kelly: Archbald Boro No Place For 82 A.I. Football Fields In Lackawanna County  [PDF of Article]

-- Scranton Times: Blakely Boro Applies More Than 30 Zoning Ordinance Restrictions On A.I. Data Centers, Lackawanna County  [PDF of Article]

-- Scranton Times: Dickson City To Regulate A.I. Data Centers Through Zoning In Lackawanna County [PDF of Article]

-- TribLive: Springdale Planning Commission OKs A.I. Data Center Project; Proposal Moves To Council In Allegheny County

-- Post-Gazette: Nova Place Hits The Market As Potential A.I. Data Center Hub In Pittsburgh

-- ABC6News: Developer Withdraws A.I. Data Center Plan In Plymouth Twp., Montgomery County After Legal Issue Halts Zoning Meeting

-- Inquirer: Plymouth Twp. A.I. Data Center Proposal Abruptly Withdrawn Over Legal Issues In Montgomery County [PDF of Article]

-- Morning Call: Proposal For 3 A.I. Data Centers In Lower Macungie A Land Use Of Regional Significance, Requires Lehigh Valley Planning Commission Review [PDF of Article]

-- Morning Call: Plans For A.I. Data Center At Old Air Products Site In Upper Macungie Revealed 

-- Morning Call: Upper Macungie Proposes A.I. Data Center Ordinance As It Faces Plans For Development At Former Air Products HQ  [PDF of Article]

-- York Daily Record: Farm Fields To Server Farms, York County Grapples With Potential A.I. Data Center Invasion  [PDF of Article]

-- LancasterOnline: Lancaster City Council To Consider A.I. Data Center Benefits Agreement Thursday, Nov. 20 [PDF of Article]  [Click Here For Agreement]

-- Utility Dive: FERC OKs NRG’s 19 GW Purchase Of LS Power Gas-Fired [5 In PA], Demand Response Assets; BP Wind Energy Sale Also Approved [PA Wind Farm] 

-- US Dept. Of Energy Closes On $1 Billion Taxpayer Funded Loan To Constellation Energy To Finance Restart Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant To Power  Microsoft A.I. Data Centers  [Company Originally Claimed No Taxpayer Money Would Be Used To Restart The Plant]

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-- AP: US DOE Loans $1 Billion To Help Finance Restart Of Three Mile Island Nuclear Reactor  [Company Originally Claimed No Taxpayer Money Would Be Used To Restart The Plant]

-- Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader: UGI Gas Company Contributes $500,000 For Customers Struggling To Pay Heating Bills

[Posted: November 20, 2025] PA Environment Digest