Opinion: The Lehigh Valley has two reasons to change how we get electricity: Flash flooding and data centers
An opinion piece argues that the Lehigh Valley's increasing electricity demand from data centers and the growing threat of flash flooding due to climate change necessitate a shift to clean, homegrown energy. It criticizes current practices where everyday families might bear the costs of infrastructure for data centers and urges voters to hold candidates accountable for modernizing infrastructure and promoting clean energy solutions.
The Lehigh Valley, encompassing Lehigh and Northampton counties, is experiencing significant impacts from a changing climate, including severe heat waves and sudden heavy rainfall that causes widespread flooding. This environmental volatility, confirmed by Climate Central and NOAA, is now compounded by a rapid increase in hyperscale data center development, positioning the region as a major market for AI-powered computing warehouses.
PPL, the local utility, projects a potential tripling of electricity demand over the next decade due to these large new users. In response, state regulators recently approved a PPL rate increase and established a new "large-load" customer class, aiming to prevent residential customers from subsidizing the extensive infrastructure primarily benefiting data centers.
Contributed by Martha Christine, a retired teacher and climate educator, and Rob Kahn of Citizens' Climate Education, the opinion piece advocates for data centers to be powered by clean, homegrown energy, with their substantial costs borne by the companies that profit from them. They propose expanding Pennsylvania solar, grid battery storage, and modern transmission, alongside green stormwater infrastructure and flood control, to keep rates predictable, reduce pollution, and create local jobs.
The authors call on voters to make regional climate resilience and infrastructure modernization central to upcoming congressional, state, and local elections. They urge constituents to question candidates on their concrete plans for managing flash flooding, ensuring clean energy for data centers, lowering energy costs, and mitigating urban heat islands.