Bucks County’s first data center will open soon. What you need to know
Amazon's first data center in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, is under construction in Falls Township, but faces significant public opposition and concerns regarding its environmental impact, electricity usage, and water demands on the Delaware River. Local residents and advocacy groups voiced concerns at an Amazon-hosted open house, and a petition against data centers has garnered over 4,300 signatures. Meanwhile, other Bucks County municipalities are considering or enacting their own data center regulations, and state-level bills addressing data center development have passed the House.
Amazon is developing its first data center in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, located at the Keystone Trade Center in Falls Township. The project involves a $1 billion investment for ten buildings totaling 3 million square feet on the former U.S. Steel industrial site, with one 1 million square foot warehouse already constructed.
The development has stirred considerable public concern, particularly regarding its environmental impact, electricity consumption, and water usage. During a recent open house in Fairless Hills, hundreds of residents expressed worries about potential electricity rate hikes, air quality impacts due to increased emissions from emergency generators, and the data center's proposed daily withdrawal of up to 4.4 million gallons from the Delaware River. Although Amazon representatives and officials from PECO and the Morrisville Municipal Authority tried to allay fears, many residents, including Kevin and Diane Ball, felt that their concerns were not adequately addressed.
Opposition extends beyond Falls Township, with advocacy groups like the Delaware Riverkeeper Network and BuxMont DSA actively campaigning against such projects. A petition demanding a moratorium on new data centers and stricter regulations has gathered over 4,300 signatures. In response to the growing data center trend, other Bucks County municipalities are taking action: Bensalem Township has enacted a six-month moratorium, West Rockhill Township has passed stricter zoning regulations, and Middletown is currently considering its own data center ordinances. At the state level, two bills, HB 2650, which links data center tax benefits to community engagement and environmental protection, and HB 2496, which grants municipalities a six-month window to halt data center applications for zoning updates, have both passed the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.