Public comment looms for Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus in Archbald
Archbald, PA is hosting public hearings for two significant data center projects, Wildcat Ridge and Project Green Mountain, which are currently seeking conditional use approval. These projects face strong opposition from residents and officials due to concerns over their immense electricity and water demands, as well as the noise and emissions from hundreds of proposed diesel backup generators. The local council is actively reviewing applications and hearing public testimony.
Archbald, Pennsylvania, is the focus of intense scrutiny as its borough council continues conditional use hearings for two major data center developments: the Wildcat Ridge Data Center Campus and Project Green Mountain. The proposed Wildcat Ridge campus, backed by Brooklyn-based Cornell Realty Management, plans to erect 14 data centers with 588 diesel generators across 574 acres. Project Green Mountain, from Green Mountain 6 LLC, seeks to build seven data centers with 196 generators on a 271-acre site.
Both projects have sparked significant public outcry and opposition from state and local officials, including State Rep. Kyle Mullins, Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan, Controller Gary DiBileo, and Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti. Concerns primarily revolve around the projects' massive utility demands, with Wildcat Ridge alone seeking 1.6 gigawatts of electricity and over 3.3 million gallons of water daily during peak times. The hundreds of diesel generators proposed for backup power have also raised substantial environmental and health concerns due to potential noise and emissions.
The Archbald Council has held numerous hearings, with Wildcat Ridge's reaching its eighth session, allowing for developer rebuttals and additional public comment. Despite a sound expert testifying that Wildcat Ridge's generators would create "unreasonable" noise levels for residents during outages, the developer maintains compliance with existing zoning. Project Green Mountain's hearings have focused on similar noise studies.
While Project Green Mountain's location is somewhat preferred by local officials due to its distance from homes, opposition to both developments remains strong. Residents organized under the "Stop Archbald Data Centers" movement have packed auditoriums, highlighting the contentious nature of these hyperscale data center proposals within the community.