Data center court fights fester as state lawmakers return to session
Multiple data center projects across Pennsylvania are facing significant legal challenges and public opposition. Residents in Middlesex Township are suing to stop the Pax-1 project, while other lawsuits are ongoing in Luzerne and Montgomery counties regarding zoning and development approvals. State lawmakers are reconvening amidst a "statewide data center furor" with a public rally planned against data centers.
Numerous data center projects across Pennsylvania are embroiled in legal disputes and widespread public opposition as state lawmakers prepare to reconvene. In Middlesex Township, Cumberland County, residents like Kyle Gerber are pursuing a lawsuit to halt the proposed Pennsylvania Digital 1 (Pax-1) project, which envisions sixteen data center buildings on 700 acres. The project, backed by Carlisle Development Partners LLC, previously received a community benefits agreement from Middlesex supervisors, worth $14 million, and was on Governor Josh Shapiro's "fast track" permitting list.
Other legal clashes include two administrative law judges for the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission pausing eminent domain proceedings for a PPL Corp. power line intended for a data center in Luzerne County, dubbed Project Hazelnut. Hazle Township supervisors rejected Project Hazelnut's land development application, a decision upheld by a county judge, which the developer is now appealing to the Commonwealth Court. Additionally, developer Brian O'Neill has filed lawsuits in Montgomery County against the Upper Merion Township Board of Supervisors, alleging a reversal on data center support following public outcry. Meanwhile, the Planning Commission in Salem Township, Luzerne County, recommended approval of an "overlay" district that could facilitate another data center.
Despite ongoing litigation and a scheduled public rally against data centers in the Capitol Rotunda, Pennsylvania's Legislature adjourned without addressing the statewide data center concerns. US Senator Dave McCormick has defended data centers as "good economic engines." For the Pax-1 project, a Cumberland County judge denied a temporary halt request from plaintiffs but also allowed their land use appeal to proceed. The legal challenges often center on accusations of "spot zoning" to favor developers.