Forum offers data center insight; expert advises which questions to ask, provides detailed statistics
Penn State professor Wangda Zuo told Venango-area residents to ask detailed questions about the size, power demand, cooling systems and community impacts of proposed data centers, including a planned project in Scrubgrass Township. He also discussed Pennsylvania’s new Responsible Infrastructure Development requirements, which require local approvals, environmental safeguards and reporting of energy and water use before state permits are issued.
Penn State architectural engineering professor Wangda Zuo presented data on the rapid growth of data center development and artificial intelligence workloads at the Oil Region Venango Campus. He advised communities considering projects such as the planned facility in Scrubgrass Township to examine a center’s size, electricity demand, cooling method, neighborhood impacts and benefits to the local economy.
Zuo said data centers’ share of U.S. electricity use could rise substantially by 2028, while cooling and indirect water consumption create additional infrastructure and environmental concerns. He noted that Pennsylvania has 11 data centers under construction and more than 100 proposed projects, driven by the state’s available land, electricity and natural gas.
The presentation also covered Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s Executive Order 2026-05 and its Responsible Infrastructure Development requirements. Under the framework, developers must obtain local zoning and land-use approvals, pay for required infrastructure, meet environmental protections, report energy and water use, engage communities and support local hiring before receiving state permits.