The paper-- Clouds On The Horizon: An Integrative Review Of Data Centers and Local Governance In the United States-- synthesizes sprawling literature on various aspects of data center development, including energy and water use, siting, jobs, tax revenue, community impacts, disaster risk, carbon emissions, air quality burdens and regulation, into one coherent picture.
Eighty-four different reference studies and articles are included in the review.
Young argues fragmentation has left local officials unprepared for an industry that is reshaping their grids, watersheds, land markets, and budgets in real time.
The numbers are striking, Young said.
Global AI-related electricity use is projected to reach 800 terawatt-hours by 2026, roughly the annual consumption of a mid-sized country. Even a one-megawatt facility can use more than 18,000 gallons of water a day.
Construction generates a large number of jobs, but operations run on far fewer permanent employees.
And while property revenue can be substantial, residents living near operating centers face persistent noise, light pollution, and rapid industrialization of formerly rural landscapes, according to Young.
For local officials in regions like southwestern Pennsylvania, where cheap industrial land, existing transmission, and abundant natural gas have already attracted developer interest, Young argues that strengthening local government and regional strategic planning and preparedness is critical.
Conclusions
“Although scholarly attention to data centers has grown substantially in recent years, their rapid proliferation, driven especially by the explosive growth in artificial intelligence and the global race for computational capacity, continues to outpace regulatory frameworks and planning processes.”
“The present moment is thus one of heightened urgency: as A.I. development accelerates, so too does the scale of infrastructure required to support it, amplifying the stakes for communities hosting these facilities.”
“Placing today’s debates within the broader arc of infrastructure governance highlights how data center development reflects deeper tensions over equity, environmental limits, and the shifting relationship between public authority and private digital capital.”
“Whether in the USA or elsewhere, the analysis underscores that public officials cannot afford to approach data center proposals reactively.
“The decisions made today regarding siting, transparency, taxation, resource allocation, community engagement, and long-term infrastructure planning will shape the social, environmental, and economic landscapes of their jurisdictions for decades to come.
“Proactive, informed, and community-centered governance is therefore essential to ensure that the benefits of digital transformation do not come at the expense of local well-being or environmental sustainability.
“As data centers become foundational to the functioning of contemporary society, their oversight must likewise become foundational to the work of modern public administration.”
Click Here for a copy of the literature review.
Click Here for the announcement of the research.
Visit the Washington & Jefferson College Center for Energy and the Built Environment webpage for more information on energy-related research based in Washington County.
(Photo: 3,200 acre A.I. Data Center Campus and power plant proposed in Homer City, Indiana County.)
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-- Environmental Advocates Urge Lawmakers To Pass Bills Giving PUC Authority To Regulate Data Centers, Prohibit Nondisclosure Agreements, Promote Clean Energy To Reduce Energy Costs [PaEN]
-- Guest Essay: Every Community Evaluating An A.I. Data Center Proposal Should Ask - What Financial Instrument Is Posted Before Construction That Guarantees The Site Will Be Remediated If The Facility Becomes Obsolete, Is Abandoned Or Closes? - By PA Data Center Accountability, Carbon County [PaEN]
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NewsClips:
-- Spotlight PA: Shapiro Demands A Stop To ‘Excessive’ Electric, Natural Gas, Water Utility Rate Increases, But Has Little Authority To Force Change
-- LancasterOnline: PPL Electric Default Service Customers To See 1.5% Increase In What They Pay For Electricity They Use Starting June 1
-- TribLive Editorial: Rising Electric Bills Leave Pennsylvanians Powerless
-- Pottstown Mercury: Details Emerge About Threats Related To Proposed Twp. Limerick A.I. Data Center Project In Montgomery County; Some Threats Read At Tuesday Meeting https://tinyurl.com/mr4yxm7s [PDF of Article]
-- PA Capital-Star: PJM Grid Manager Says Developers Are Proposing 220 GW Of New Power Projects [Decisions On Which Go Ahead Will Not Be Made Until Feb. 2028, Then They Have To Be Financed, Sited, Built]
-- Utility Dive: PA House Unanimously Passes Bill To Require Utilities To Incorporate Review Of Advanced Transmission Technology In Transmission Line Proposals
-- Utility Dive: North American Electric Reliability Corp. Issues Level 3 Alert, Mandates Action To Address Sudden A.I. Data Center Load Losses
-- Utility Dive: American Electric Power Eyes Exit From PJM, SPP Over Slow Connection Of New Generation In Face Of A.I. Data Center Demand [AEP operates in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Virginia, WV In PJM]
[Posted: May 7, 2026] PA Environment Digest
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