Project Gold data center campus in North Pocono radically changes plans
Developer Quantm Group radically changed its plans for the $18 billion Project Gold data center campus in North Pocono, Pennsylvania, reducing its size and impact in response to community concerns. The revised proposal eliminates most backup generators, drastically cuts water usage, and commits to battery storage and grid upgrades. The project is now seeking conditional use approval from Covington Township supervisors.
Developer Quantm Group LLC has unveiled radically revised plans for its $18 billion Project Gold data center campus in Pennsylvania's North Pocono region, specifically Covington and Clifton townships, Lackawanna County. The changes, made in response to significant community concerns regarding the project's scale, include scrapping initial proposals for up to 1,000 backup generators and a potential nuclear reactor, eliminating an estimated 1 million gallon daily drain on local water resources, and reducing the total number of data centers.
The new conditional use application, filed in Covington Township, outlines plans for just over 2.5 million square feet of data centers across six single-story buildings, requiring 2.2 gigawatts of electricity. This revised plan represents an over 80% reduction in the number of data centers and a 43% decrease in building footprints from the original concept. The project now proposes exceptionally low water demands, around 8,500 gallons per day, utilizing a closed-loop cooling system, on-site wells, and treated wastewater from the Covington Twp. Sewer Authority. Quantm Group will also fund improvements to the sewer treatment plant and significant electrical infrastructure upgrades with PPL Electric Utilities, which will own and operate on-site battery storage and two switchyards/substations.
Attorney Tony Maras, co-founder of Quantm Group, stated that the redesign was influenced by the community's sentiment that the original plan was "too dense" and an unidentified end-user's desire for a greener campus. However, Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan expressed continued skepticism, attributing the changes to successful community pressure and emphasizing the need for ongoing scrutiny. He highlighted the commitment to Governor Josh Shapiro's responsible infrastructure development (GRID) standards, which include zero-emission energy storage.
The revised Project Gold is now the third-largest proposed data center campus in Lackawanna County by building footprint, though its reported electricity demands of 2.2 gigawatts are the highest among county proposals, surpassing the Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus. PPL Electric Utilities has confirmed its ability to support the project's peak demand, with Quantm Group funding the necessary electrical upgrades to ensure grid reliability and redundancy.