Concerned Residents Of Western PA To Host Feb. 1 Community Gathering On Proposed Homer City Power Plant And A.I. Data Center In Indiana County

The newly formed regional group-- Concerned Residents of Western PA-- will host a community gathering on the Homer City Power Plant and A.I. Data Center on Sunday, February 1 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. at the Indiana Theater, 637 Philadelphia Street, Indiana, PA. 

This gathering will be an opportunity for residents across the region to come together and learn as a community about the Homer City project from invited panelists and then from each other. 

The event will consist of two parts: The first half is planned as a panel of representatives from statewide environmental groups, and during the second half, community members will be able to raise questions and concerns. 

The  panel discussion will be led by--

-- Nina Victoria, Community Advocate from The Center for Coalfield Justice; 

-- Jay Walker, Outreach Coordinator with Clear Air Council; and 

-- Katriana Marquez, Civic Engagement Mobilizer for PennFuture. 

Your Right to Know 

A project at the scale of the proposed Homer City Power Plant and AI Data Center will have massive economic, environmental and health impacts in our region, so residents have a fundamental right to the facts, including information about costs, and benefits of the project. 

Crucially, residents should have an opportunity to understand and debate the extensive environmental impacts of the project on our region’s air quality and water; its negligible economic impact on jobs and community development; its negative market impact on electricity and gas prices—and, finally, the implications of this proposed project beyond our region. 

A project of this scope raises many significant questions, and this gathering will provide a forum for participants to raise their own concerns. 

Most supporters of the project focus on the short-term gains of temporary construction jobs but rarely mention the grave long-term effects, such as legacy pollution and adverse impacts on community health. 

Does this region want yet another boom-and-bust economy that extracts wealth from the area, while leaving residents with the burdens of toxic cleanup and devastating health outcomes? 

Does this region want to give up so much for so little in return? 

Will people want to move to the region if the area is environmentally degraded by the project? 

Were alternatives to fracked natural gas considered for generating power to an A.I. data center campus? 

Are there more lasting avenues toward economic development for our region, such as electrified railroads and mass transit?

 Just imagine investing the billions now directed at A.I. data centers into public infrastructure instead.  

Concerned Residents of Western PA was formed in the Fall of 2025, as a grassroots group “uniting out of care and concern for our humanity, health, natural resources, and a sustainable future.” 

CROW is a recipient of a Direct Support Grant from the Mountain Watershed Association of Melcroft, Fayette County. 

CROW is dedicated to exploring economic alternatives to extraction and exploitation funded by billionaires and believes “a better world is possible!”

PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices, Opportunities To Comment - January 24 [PaEN]

-- DEP Posted 61 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In January 24 PA Bulletin  [PaEN]  

Related Articles This Week:

-- Shale Gas & Public Health Conference -- Our Work, Our Health: Building A Future Beyond Sacrifice To Be Held Feb. 19 In Pittsburgh, Online  [PaEN]  

-- PJM Interconnect Issues Cold Weather Alert For Western Region Jan. 23 Expanding To Entire PJM Area Jan. 24-27; Regional Grid Could Exceed Winter Demand Record on Jan. 27 & 30  [PaEN] 

-- PUC Urges Consumers To Prepare Ahead Of Winter Storm Fern And Prolonged Extreme Cold  [PaEN]

-- Aboveground Water Pipelines Feeding Shale Gas Drilling Operations Beginning To Freeze Due To Cold Temperatures; Range Resources Incident Reported In Washington County; Notify DEP Of Pipeline Problems  [PaEN]

-- House Energy Committee Meeting To Consider Bill Giving PUC More Authority To Regulate A.I. Data Centers Moved To Feb. 2  [PaEN]  

-- Gov. Shapiro: Major Utilities, Power Producers, Tech Companies, Experts Endorse Federal/Northeast PJM Governors’ Plan To Meet Surging A.I. Data Center Energy Demands - Will PJM Listen?  [PaEN] 

-- PA House Committees Hearing: Witnesses Agree - A.I. Data Centers - Real And Purely Speculative - Are Driving Up The Cost Of Electricity; Without Effective Action Energy Increases Will Not End   [PaEN] 

-- Concerned Residents Of Western PA To Host Feb. 1 Community Gathering On Proposed Homer City Power Plant And A.I. Data Center In Indiana County  [PaEN]   

-- York Dispatch Guest Essay: Republicans Add To The Pain Of Soaring Energy Costs - By Katherine Pichardo, Latino Victory and David Kieve, Environmental Defense Fund Action  [PaEN] 

-- DEP Approves Air Quality Permit For Installation Of 53 Emergency Power Generators At The Amazon Data Center In Salem Twp., Luzerne County  [PaEN] 

-- DEP Invites Comments On Individual Stormwater Permit For The 150 Mile Mid-Atlantic Interstate Transmission, LLC Piney-Seward, Erie South Piney Transmission Line Project Thru 8 Counties  [PaEN]  

-- PUC Announces Increase In Act 13 Shale Gas Drilling Impact Fee For Calendar 2025  [PaEN] 

NewsClips - Energy:

-- Bloomberg: Cold Blast Threatens To Cut US Natural Gas Output By Most Since 2021 Over Next 14 Days, Energy Aspects Says

-- Reuters: US Power Grid Faces Stress Test Amid Arctic Chill, A.I. Data Center Demand; PJM Expected To Set Demand Records

-- Tribune-Democrat: Electric Grid Concerns Aired By PA Lawmakers As Frigid Weather Settles In

-- WHYY: As Electricity Rates Soar, PECO Adds $2.5 Million In Aid For Low-Income Customers 

-- Bloomberg: Natural Gas Prices Soar 75% In 3 Days As Arctic Cold Grips The US

-- Bloomberg: US DOE Calls On A.I. Data Centers To Prepare Backup Power Ahead Of Winter Storm

-- Utility Dive: US DOE Orders Diesel Generators To Be Ready As Electric Sector Prepares For Winter Storm Fern; Consumer Advocate Warns The Plan Is Unworkable 

-- WITF: PA Consumer Advocates Urge House Committees To Tax A.I. Data Centers, Offset Home Energy Spikes At Hearing

-- Post-Gazette: PA House Members Hear Warnings On A.I. Data Centers, Rising Electric Costs At Hearing

-- WHYY - Susan Phillips: NJ Governor Issues State Of Emergency On Energy Costs; Orders State Regulators To Boost Renewables, Battery Storage In Light Of Rising Electricity Prices

-- Spotlight PA: Utility And A.I. Interests Spending Millions Lobbying Congress, President To Support Data Center Boom

-- Utility Dive: PJM Considering $1.7 Billion Transmission Line Project Across PA Based On Year-Old A.I. Data Center Demand Forecasts Is A ‘Poster Child’ For Overbuilding, According To PA Consumer Advocate

-- Utility Dive: FERC Commissioners See Progress In PJM A.I. Data Center, Power Supply Plan 

-- Financial Times: EQT, Expand Energy Natural Gas Producers Are Methane Super Emitters, Environmental Groups’ Data Shows  [PDF of Article]

-- Inside Climate News: Clean Energy Advocates Criticise ‘Glaring’ Omission In White House/Northeast Governor’s Plan To Fuel A.I. Data Centers In PJM Region

-- PA Capital-Star Guest Essay: Beyond NIMBY vs. Progress: How Pennsylvania Can Secure A ‘Durable Yes’ For A.I. Data Centers [Honestly Address Issues Of Concern] - By Desmond Daley, Pittsburgh Resident

-- Reuters: US Refineries Brace For Disruptions As Arctic Blast Hits

-- Reuters: US Energy Secretary Calls For Doubling Global Oil Output In Davos

-- AP: President’s Administration Scraps Multimillion-Dollar Solar Energy Projects In Puerto Rico As Grid Crumbles

-- The Guardian: Why President Is Worried A.I. Data Centers Might Cost His Party An Election

NewsClips - Data Centers - Local:

-- Scranton Times: Lackawanna County Commissioner: Legislature Should Authorize County-Level A.I. Data Center Impact Fees   [PDF of Article]

-- PA Capital-Star Guest Essay: Beyond NIMBY vs. Progress: How Pennsylvania Can Secure A ‘Durable Yes’ For A.I. Data Centers [Honestly Address Issues Of Concern] - By Desmond Daley, Pittsburgh Resident

-- Scranton Times: Ransom Twp. Supervisors Reject A.I. Data Center Zoning Amendment Requested By Developer  [PDF of Article]

-- Morning Call: Residents Push Back Against A.I. Data Center Planned Across From Parkland H.S.: ‘I Do Not Want This In My Backyard’  

-- Scranton Times: Jessup Borough Denies Breaker Street A.I. Data Centers  [PDF of Article]

-- Scranton Times: Wildcat Ridge A.I. Data Center In Archbald To Use Huge Amounts Of Power, Water  [PDF of Article]

-- Scranton Times: Scranton City Council Wants Info On Tapping Lake Scranton Water Supply To Cool A.I. Data Center   [PDF of Article]

-- Scranton Times - Chris Kelly Opinion: A.I. Data Centers Set To Make Us Second Class Citizens Of Data Center Valley  [PDF of Article] 

-- Scranton Times Chris Kelly Opinion: The Cumulative Impacts Of A.I. Data Center Development [PDF of Article] 

-- Scranton Times: Scranton Could Feel Impact Of A.I. Data Centers Built In Ransom Twp., Elsewhere [PDF of Article]

-- Scranton Times: Dickson City To Hold 2nd Hearing Jan. 20 On A.I. Data Center Ordinance [PDF of Article]

-- Scranton Times: Dickson City Residents Overwhelmingly Oppose A.I. Data Centers At Public Hearing  [PDF of Article]

-- The Citizens Voice: Hollenback Twp. Residents Rally Against A.I. Data Center Campus On Rural Land In Luzerne County  [PDF of Article]

-- TribLive: TECfusion A.I. Data Center Meeting Postponed In Upper Burrell Twp. To February Due To Weather In Allegheny County

[Posted: January 23, 2026]  PA Environment Digest