On November 18, 2025, the Department issued an air quality plan approval for the Homer City Redevelopment project, paving the way for what would be the nation’s largest fracked gas power plant to open in Pennsylvania.
The groups provided this background.
Although a power plant of that size could produce enough electricity to power over three million homes, this plant is being built for a 3,200-acre A.I. data center campus.
Local communities would suffer the consequences of increased air pollution, noise, odors, and compromised drinking water with minimal return benefits.
Additionally, each year the plant operates, the groups said the toxic air pollution it spews could cause the premature deaths of dozens of people across the country and millions of dollars in health costs.
The effect of the climate pollution it emits would likely contribute to the deaths of additional thousands of people globally by the end of the century for each year the plant operates, caused by the increased global heating.
This unlawful permit was issued in spite of 571 comments submitted by the public, strongly opposing (and identifying significant errors in) the proposed plant’s draft plan approval.
Clean Air Council, PennFuture, and Sierra Club have filed a Notice of Appeal with the Environmental Hearing Board challenging errors in the plan approval, including violations of the federal Clean Air Act, the Air Pollution Control Act, Pennsylvania’s Environmental Rights Amendment (Article 1, Section 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution), and the Department’s own Environmental Justice Policy.
“We will not stand by idly while our government greenlights a devastating and illegal toxic data center power plant,” said Alex Bomstein, Clean Air Council Executive Director. “The people of Indiana County are rising up to say no to job-killing data centers and their private power plants, and Clean Air Council is proud to stand arm-in-arm with them.”
“Building the country’s largest fracked-gas power plant to generate electricity primarily for AI data center operations runs entirely counter to the goal of moving towards the clean energy economy Pennsylvanians want and deserve,” said Jessica O’Neill, PennFuture’s Managing Attorney for Litigation. “In issuing this permit, DEP has failed to fulfill its obligations under Pennsylvania’s Environmental Rights Amendment, as well as its obligations to consider and work to minimize the climate change consequences of electrical power generation.”
Local residents express support for this lawsuit:
“As members of Concerned Residents of Western PA (CROW), an area group opposed to the planned power plant in Homer City, we fully support the legal appeal by the Clean Air Council, PennFuture, and Sierra Club challenging the air permit recently granted by DEP to the Homer City Redevelopment LLC. Given that the plant will have long-lasting and devastating impacts on our region’s environment, we are grateful for the legal action by the Clean Air Council, PennFuture, and Sierra Club. This appeal will help to ensure that project developers act in the public interest to follow air quality standards intended to protect our health and the future of our community,” said Concerned Residents of Western PA (CROW).
Click Here for a copy of the notice of the appeal.
(Photo: 3,200 acre Homer City A.I. Data Center Campus under development.)
Resource Links - Homer City Data Center:
Related Articles This Week:
-- PJM Electricity Auction Prices Again At Cap Imposed By Gov. Shapiro’s Lawsuit Settlement, Without It Prices Would Be 59% Higher Driven By A.I. Data Center Demand; Grid Reliability Now Questioned [PaEN]
-- Pennsylvania BRIGHT Expands Statewide To Remove Barriers To Bringing Affordable Solar Energy To PA Homeowners Left Out Of Transition To Clean Energy Options [PaEN]
-- Philadelphia Solar Energy Association: New Solar Schools Toolkit, Solar Toolkit For Nonprofits, Local Governments Available To Help Deal With Soaring Electricity Costs [PaEN]
NewsClips:
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-- Reuters: Prices In PJM Power Auction Hit New Record, Signaling Higher Utility Bills Ahead
-- Bloomberg: Latest PJM Power Auction Set To Deepen Affordability Concerns
-- KSDK: A.I. Data Centers Are Sucking Illinois’ Power Grid Dry, Official Report Warns [PJM Service Area]
-- PJM Outlines Long-Term Electric Transmission Plan In FERC Filing
-- KDKA: PA Lawmakers Exploring How To Regulate A.I. Data Centers, Which Drive Up Resident’s Utility Bills
-- TribLive: Westmoreland County Housing Authority Plans To Lease Former State Prison Site, Warehouse Rooftop For Solar Energy Facilities [‘There’s Only One Direction (Electric Prices) Are Going - That’s Up’]
-- TribLive Guest Essay: New Energy Sources Needed Now To Combat Soaring Electricity Prices - By Kate Harper & Conor Lamb, Energy Future PA
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-- Altoona Mirror: Groups Urge Shapiro To Dial Back Support For A.I. Data Centers [PDF of Article]
-- Bloomberg: New York Utility Says Queue For A.I. Data Center Power Users Has Tripled
-- Pottstown Mercury: Sen. Pennycuick, Rep. Ciresi Say State Efforts Will Continue To Regulate A.I. Despite President’s Executive Order
-- Post-Gazette: President’s Order To Block State Regulation Of A.I. An ‘Abuse Of Power,’ State Democratic Sen. Costa Says
-- PA Capital-Star: PA’s Republican Attorney General, Lawmakers Contend With President’s Order Blocking A.I. Regulations
-- Post-Gazette: Survey Says Pennsylvanians See The A.I. Revolution As A ‘Significant Threat To Humanity’
[Posted: December 18, 2025] PA Environment Digest
