Yates County residents push back against proposed AI data center near Seneca Lake
Yates County residents are opposing Vulcan Infrastructure and Power's proposed AI data center near Seneca Lake. At a forum in Penn Yan, residents raised concerns about water consumption, warm-water discharges, harmful algae blooms and potential impacts on drinking water and aquatic life.
Residents from communities along Seneca Lake gathered at an informational forum in the Town of Penn Yan to oppose a proposed AI data center in Yates County. Speakers focused on the project's potential water waste and the possibility that warm-water discharges could enter Seneca Lake, threatening aquatic life and a drinking-water resource serving more than 100,000 people.
The project is being proposed by Yates County-based Vulcan Infrastructure and Power. The company says it is evaluating ways to reduce the facility's carbon footprint and pursue responsible energy development, while residents argue that the proposal could worsen existing harmful algae-bloom problems in the Finger Lakes region.