Appalachia is seeing rising interest in AI data centers, particularly in rural areas, creating a timely question: can the region capture what data centers already produce in abundance, low-temperature waste heat, and turn it into a visible community and economic benefit?
Data centers create a tremendous amount of heat, and yet their equipment can only function if temperatures are kept stable.
Many data centers use water-based systems to address excess heat, but this results in high water usage and wasted potential.
The challenge of the heat created by data centers can create new opportunities, with appropriate planning and new technology.
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Related Articles This Week:
-- House Energy Committee To Consider Bill Giving PUC More Authority To Regulate A.I. Data Centers Jan. 26; Hearings On Related Bills Jan. 26 and Feb. 2 [PaEN]
-- Utility Dive: PJM Updates 20-Year Forecast Of Electricity Demand Growth, Reducing Short Term Growth Estimates By Up To 2.6%, Increasing 2035 Estimate By 3.3% [PaEN]
-- PJM Interconnection: 2025 Year In Review Part III: Planning Prepares For Burgeoning A.I. Data Center Electricity Demand [PaEN]
-- PennTAP Now Accepting Applications For RISE PA Decarbonization Grants For Small, Mid-Sized Manufacturers [PaEN]
-- Sustainable Pittsburgh Hosts Feb. 3 Webinar On A.I. Data Centers - Energy, Infrastructure, Policy Implications [PaEN]
-- ReImagine Appalachia Hosts Feb. 5 Webinar On Catching Heat: Opportunities, Challenges Of Using Waste Heat From A.I. Data Centers [PaEN]
-- Cameron County Chamber Of Commerce To Install Solar Energy Installation At The Artisan & Economic Innovation CenterTo Offset 100% Of Energy Consumption [PaEN]
-- Pennsylvania Solar Center: Jan. 23 Webinar On State Solar For Schools Grants & Free GET Solar Schools Technical Assistance [PaEN]
-- PA Leads The Nation In Constructing Federally Funded Electric Vehicle Charging Stations With 28 Now Open; Deadline For New Applications Jan. 30 [PaEN]
-- Center For Rural Pennsylvania: Number Of Electric Vehicles, EV Charging Stations Per County ]
NewsClips:
-- City & State PA Guest Essay: Your Energy Bill Keeps Rising, Here’s What We Can Do About It - By Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler (D-Philadelphia), Majority Chair, House Energy Committee
-- Marcellus Drilling News: US EIA Predicts Price Of Natural Gas To Dip 2% In 2026, Increase 33% In 2027 Driven By LNG Gas Exports [PDF of Article]
-- Marcellus Drilling News: Expand Energy CEO: Natural Gas Drillers Won’t Add New Production At $3.50 Gas Price-- $4.00 to $4.50 Is Needed To ‘Activate Supply Growth’ [PDF of Article]
-- Spotlight PA: Many PA Residents Don’t Want A.I. Data Centers In Their Communities; PA State Leaders Are Welcoming Them
-- Wilkes-Barre Times-Leader: Dallas Twp. , Luzerne County Residents Fill Public Hearing Space In Support Of A.I. Data Center Zoning Ordinance Limiting Centers To Industrial Zones
-- Scranton Times - Chris Kelly Opinion: A.I. Data Centers Call For Hawks, Not Canaries [PDF of Article]
-- Scranton Times - Chris Kelly Opinion: DEP Hearing Exposes Gravity Of The ‘Comically Speculative Nature’ Of A.I. Data Center Development [PDF of Article]
-- Capital & Main - Audrey Carleton: Will Homer City, An Old Pennsylvania Coal Town, Get A Reboot From 3,200 Acre A.I. Data Center Campus?
-- AP: Microsoft Pushes Big Tech To ‘Pay Our Way’ For A.I. Data Centers Amid Rising Opposition [PA Highlighted]
-- Talen Energy Buys 3 Natural Gas Power Plants In Ohio, Indiana To Service Growing Data Center Demand
-- Wall Street Journal: America’s Biggest Power Grid Operator [PJM] Has An A.I. Program - Too Many Data Centers Threaten To Max Out Generation Capacity, Rate Increases Anger Consumers [PDF of Article]
-- YaleEnvironment360: US LNG Gas Exports Are Pushing Energy Bills Higher, Report Finds
-- Public News Service: Clean Energy Boom Adding Much-Needed Electric Generating Capacity To Grid In PA Threatened As Federal Funding Stalls
-- Post-Gazette - Anya Litvak: EOS Energy Storage Company Calls A.I. Data Centers An ‘Accelerant’ For Company’s Batteries
-- Utility Dive: US Senate Bill Would Exempt Fully Isolated A.I. Data Centers, Other Large Loads From FERC, DOE Regulation
-- AP: US Carbon Pollution Rose In 2025, Experts Blame Cold Weather, High Natural Gas Prices, Data Centers
-- TribLive: Dina Powell McCormick, Wife Of PA US Sen. Dave McCormick, Named Meta [Facebook] President
-- Post-Gazette: Sen. McCormick Says He Will Recuse Himself From Issues Specific To Facebook/Meta With His Wife’s New Role As Meta President
[Posted: January 16, 2026] PA Environment Digest
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