PPL sets open house on planned upgrades near proposed Lackawanna County data centers

PPL Electric Utilities is moving forward with plans to upgrade and expand its transmission infrastructure in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania. The utility announced an informational open house scheduled for March 31 at the Throop Community Civic Center to provide details on the project, which includes new substations, a switchyard, and transmission lines. The Archbald Mountain Substation and Winton Switchyard are slated for construction near the Stavola Archbald Quarry. PPL stated these upgrades are necessary to "support new customer connections and strengthen reliability," though it declined to confirm if the "new customers" are specific data centers. However, the new infrastructure is strategically located near a proposed 272-acre data center campus at the Stavola Archbald Quarry. Green Mountain 6 LLC has submitted an application for zoning approval to the Archbald borough for this campus, which would feature seven two-story data center buildings. The project is anticipated to begin in summer 2027 and conclude by summer 2030, pending approval from the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. Attorney Jeff Wilhelm of Reed Smith submitted the zoning application on behalf of Green Mountain 6 LLC. The plan involves new 230 kV transmission lines requiring a 250-foot-wide right-of-way corridor across Archbald, Jessup, Olyphant, and Jefferson Twp.