The report comes as state Sen, Katie Muth (D-Montgomery) has announced an intent to file legislation to establish a 3-year moratorium on proposals and permitting of new hyperscale data centers in Pennsylvania.
[During the February 26 Senate hearing on DEP’s budget, Sen. Rosemary Brown (R-Lackawanna) also announced her support for a moratorium. Read more here.
[She joins Rep. Kyle Mullins (D-Lackawanna) and Rep. Kyle Donahue (D-Lackawanna) who announced their support for a moratorium earlier. Read more here.]
At least 23 hyperscale data centers have been proposed in Pennsylvania.
“Across the country, communities are already feeling the strain of unchecked data center growth. We have learned hard lessons from the past, and Pennsylvania cannot afford to repeat them. Reports like this raise serious red flags about power demand, water use, and local infrastructure impacts. That is why I am introducing a moratorium bill here in Pennsylvania because the health and safety of our residents are on the line, and we must get this right before communities pay the price,” said Senator Katie Muth.
The highly detailed report lays out the wide range of harms and hazards associated with the sudden explosion of the data center industry in the United States, including:
-- Annual water usage equivalent to 18.5 million households by 2028; annual electricity usage equivalent to 55 million households by 2028.
-- Dangerous new demand for fossil fuels, posing heightened risks of air and water pollution for impacted communities and a grave threat to our global climate.
-- A host of other societal threats, from national economic catastrophe, to loss of critical farmland, to unrelenting noise pollution, to threats to children and democracy.
“Our state constitution explicitly states that the people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and aesthetic values of the environment [Article I, Section 27]. Industry’s race to build hyperscale data centers in our communities is a direct threat to these rights,” said Food & Water Watch Senior Pennsylvania Organizer Ginny Marcille-Kerslake.
“Municipalities across the Commonwealth are scrambling to develop data center ordinances to protect these rights as well as the health, safety and well-being of residents against an onslaught of industry’s attempts to rezone land in their best interests.
“Pennsylvania needs a moratorium now to afford local governments the time to update their zoning laws for this new use,” explained Kerslake.
The new report details that 40 percent of energy for data centers comes from natural gas, and that figure is higher for Pennsylvania, the second largest gas producing state next to Texas.
As the state ranks 4th nationally for total carbon dioxide emissions, the potential for more pollution is a very viable danger.
In October, Food & Water Watch became the first national group to call for a data center moratorium. Since then, over 250+ organizations have joined the call — including 17 in Pennsylvania.
Click Here for a copy of the report.
Click Here for the report announcement.
Visit the Food & Water Watch website for more information on this and other issues.
Related Articles This Week:
-- Senate PUC Budget Hearing: PUC Chair Says PJM Market Auction Not Designed For Data Center Demands; PA Needs Diversify Fuels Used To Generate Electricity; Bring Your Own Power Critical [PaEN]
-- Guest Essay: Pennsylvania Needs To Act Now To Prevent A New $700 Million Increase In Electric Costs For Ratepayers - By Steve DeFrank, Chairman, Public Utility Commission
-- House Committee Reports Out Bills To Require Data Centers To Disclose Energy, Water Use, Direct DCED To Develop Model Data Center Ordinance [PaEN]
-- New Comprehensive Report Lays Out Case For 3-Year A.I. Data Center Moratorium To Be Introduced In Pennsylvania [PaEN]
-- DCNR House Budget Hearing: House Republicans Propose More Shale Drilling In State Forest Land, Under State Parks; Gas Drilling Has Caused The Loss Of 30,000 Acres Of Core State Forest Land So Far [PaEN]
-- PA Solar Center, Capital Good Fund Partner On Pennsylvania BRIGHT To Deliver Nearly 70 Solar Energy Projects Worth Up To $40 Million [PaEN]
-- Energy Efficiency Alliance: March 12 Webinar - How Virtual Power Plants Strengthen Our Grid, Protect Ratepayers [PaEN]
-- Protect PT To Hold Workshops In Plum Boro March 12, Monessen March 19 On How To Protect Your Community From Environmental Threats Caused By Shale Gas Development [PaEN]
-- The Derrick: PA US Senator McCormick Cosponsors Bill To Adopt Permitting Reforms For Electric Transmission Lines To Meet Growing Energy Demands [PDF of Article]
-- Pittsburgh Penguins Reduce Carbon Footprint By Buying Carbon Credits Supporting 272 Acres Of Green Space In Allegheny County [PaEN]
NewsClips:
-- PennFuture, Conservation Voters Of PA Host March 4 Webinar On How To Protect Your Community Before A.I. Data Centers Come Knocking, 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.
-- Inside Climate News - Jon Hurdle: Grassroots Resistance To A.I. Data Centers Rises In Pennsylvania
-- Tribune-Democrat: PA House Committee Sees Partisan Split On Proposals To Regulate, Monitor A.I. Data Centers
-- City & State PA: PA House Committee Advances Bills Addressing Growing Concerns With A.I. Data Centers, Republicans Opposed
-- Beaver Times Guest Essay: A.I. Data Centers Will Harm Health, Limit Jobs In Beaver County - By Elan Justice Pavlinich, Environmental Health Project
-- TribLive Guest Essay: Why Are Pennsylvanians Paying Higher Electric Bills - Data Center Demand, PJM, Natural Gas Price Spikes - By Trish Reilly, Centrist Democrats Of America
-- PA Capital-Star Guest Essay: Can Electric Grid Meet A.I. Data Center Energy Demands Without Increasing Risks For Everyone Who Depends On It? - By Shixiang Zhu, Carnegie Mellon University
-- Utility Dive: PJM Proposes Fast-Track New Generation Interconnection Plan; Extension Of Capacity Auction Price Ceiling, Collar
-- Morning Call/AP: Iran Strikes Amazon Data Centers In Middle East Highlighting Industry’s Vulnerability To Physical Disasters
[Posted: March 4, 2026] PA Environment Digest
No comments :
Post a Comment