Pennsylvania Op-Ed Questions Data Center Job Creation Claims for Local Projects
An op-ed argues against the economic benefits of data centers, specifically addressing proposals in Hanover Township (Washington County) and Fayette County, Pennsylvania. It highlights residents' opposition and questions job creation claims made by local and state officials, citing low permanent job numbers for both a Prime Data Centers project and a NextEra power plant tied to a large data center. The article also notes a data center moratorium in Texas, which influenced Prime Data Centers' choice of location.
In an opinion piece for the Observer-Reporter, retired executive editor Park Burroughs, a resident of South Franklin, Pennsylvania, challenges the narrative that data centers are significant job creators, citing concerns raised by local residents regarding two proposed projects in Pennsylvania.
Burroughs details a proposal by Texas-based Prime Data Centers to build a 1.8 million-square-foot complex at the Starpointe Industrial Park near Burgettstown in Hanover Township, Washington County. This project would include a gas power plant to run it and is expected to create 300 construction jobs and only 40 to 60 permanent positions. The article notes that Prime Data Centers chose Pennsylvania because Texas had enacted a data center moratorium.
He also references plans for a larger, $13 billion NextEra project in Fayette County, not far from Brownsville, which would feature a gas power plant at an abandoned coal mine to fuel an enormous, unnamed data center. This project, partially funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce under the Trump administration, is projected to create only about 100 permanent jobs. The permitting process for this plant is not expected to be completed until 2030.
Burroughs concludes by urging civic leaders to stop promoting data centers as job creators, arguing that the low number of permanent jobs they offer does not justify the significant economic and environmental costs, particularly concerning reliance on gas power plants. He calls for extreme caution in advancing such technological developments.