Homer City power plant water usage remains unclear

The proposed Homer City natural gas-fired power plant and associated hyperscale data centers face scrutiny over their potential water usage from Two Lick Creek in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. Despite a public hearing scheduled by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for stormwater discharge permits related to a new natural gas pipeline, specific details regarding water withdrawal for the power plant and data centers remain publicly unavailable. Jonathan Burgess, director of the Pittsburgh Water Collaboratory at the University of Pittsburgh, noted the difficulty in obtaining these details due to the lack of public documentation. DEP spokesman Thomas Decker stated that more specific water withdrawal information is anticipated when Homer City Generation L.P., the project developer, applies for a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit. The Central Indiana County Water Authority is slated to supply the plant, though manager Robert Nymick was unavailable for comment. Homer City Generation asserts the Two Lick Reservoir's 5-billion-gallon capacity is sufficient and that the new plant will use comparable water volumes to the former coal-fired plant. However, the company could not provide specific water usage figures for future data center tenants, citing varying needs. Researchers, like Virginia Tech Professor Landon Marston, estimate hyperscale data centers can consume 1 million to 5 million gallons daily, equivalent to the needs of a town of 10,000 to 50,000 residents, with much of that water evaporating. Concurrently, the Pennsylvania General Assembly is considering the Data Center Energy and Water Reporting Act, a bill that has passed the state House and is now with the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee. This legislation would mandate annual reporting of data center water usage. Currently, the Homer City project operates under a drought management plan requiring a minimum daily release from the reservoir.