PECO, Amazon and others to answer questions about Falls data center

Falls Township is hosting a town hall meeting this week to update residents on the Amazon data center currently under construction at the Keystone Trade Center on the former U.S. Steel Property. The meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, July 14, at Pennsbury High School East in Fairless Hills, will feature presentations from Amazon, PECO Energy Company, and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, followed by a Q&A session for residents.

The data center, the first of its kind in Bucks County, is nearing completion. Amazon is funding its construction through developer NorthPoint and is also investing in a separate facility in Luzerne County. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro previously announced that these two projects represent the largest private sector investment in the state's history, projected to create approximately 1,250 high-tech jobs.

Despite the economic benefits, the project has drawn significant opposition from some Falls Township residents, mirroring national concerns about AI data centers. Past public meetings have seen protests, and a petition advocating for a moratorium on new data center projects, along with stricter utility regulations, air quality monitors, backup generators, and noise limits, has garnered over 4,000 signatures. However, Pennsylvania state law currently prohibits towns from enacting such moratoriums, requiring all types of development to be permitted somewhere within a community.

The article also notes that while Falls Township cannot enact a moratorium, another Lower Bucks township, Bensalem, implemented a temporary pause in June. Additionally, in Upper Bucks, West Rockhill Township reviewed an informal data center proposal for fall 2025 and passed new regulations in April to mitigate future data center impacts on residents, though no construction has been approved there.