A former haunted asylum site in Pennsylvania, once infamous for the appalling mistreatment of disabled residents, is now at the centre of a bitter fight over a proposed data centre complex that has pitted residents against developers, thrown local politics into chaos and drawn in the governor.
The site of the former Pennhurst State School and Hospital in East Vincent Township – which closed in 1987 after a lawsuit over inhumane conditions, and later operated as a Halloween attraction – is now earmarked for three buildings spanning nearly two million square feet, powered by methane gas. The owners, Pennhurst Holdings, submitted the proposal to local officials earlier this year, but the plan has ignited a fierce backlash that goes far beyond the usual not-in-my-backyard disputes.
Local backlash: a veterans’ home, a haunted past and a community’s anger
The most immediate flashpoint is the proximity of the proposed complex to the Southeastern Veterans’ Center, which sits less than 600ft from the intended site. Donald Hyman, a 62-year-old resident of the veterans’ home, is among those who fear the impact of air pollution from an on‑site power plant and backup generators. Hyman, who is recovering from congestive heart failure, told the Guardian: “You’re trying to force something on us we don’t want. We don’t want it, period.” He and four other veterans also raised concerns that noise from the facility could trigger post‑traumatic stress disorder, and that construction might expose them to harmful contaminants in the soil and water.
Residents like Larry Schenk, a systems engineer who has worked inside data centres, say the community has lost faith in the planning process. “There’s a feeling we’re being intentionally kept in the dark, or prevented from having our opinions heard,” he said before the East Vincent Township Supervisors voted unanimously on 21 May to reject the proposal. At an earlier hearing in April, residents had booed officials to show their opposition. The developers, Pennhurst Holdings, have said they plan to appeal the decision in court, arguing that the township may not have met its legal obligation to allow a data centre on the land.
Pennhurst Holdings acknowledged the complex would be located near the veterans’ centre and about 2,500ft from other homes, and stressed in a statement that it will meet “all environmental, sound and emission standards” set by the township and state. The company said it had conducted an environmental investigation of the entire site and that the site and tunnels have been remediated for industrial use. Some of the veterans dispute claims from local officials that the site has been “cleaned up”.
The developers also said their plan to bring on‑site gas‑fuelled generators and a power plant was a response to residents’ concerns about rising utility bills, and that this change aligns with Governor Josh Shapiro’s call for developers to “bring their own power” or pay entirely for their data centres’ energy. An attorney for Pennhurst Holdings said the company was not surprised by the rejection but declined to name the tech company that would eventually use the data centre, adding that the project would create 1,000 construction jobs and 200 permanent ones.
Political fight: a governor, a moratorium and a presidential hopeful
The battle over the East Vincent site has become emblematic of a wider struggle across Pennsylvania – and the United States – over how to regulate the rapid spread of data centres, which are powering the AI boom. Governor Josh Shapiro, a Democrat widely seen as a future presidential contender, is aggressively courting investment. He announced last summer that Amazon would make “the largest private sector investment” in the state’s history – $20bn in two data centre complexes in Luzerne and Bucks counties. At a summit in Pittsburgh, US Senator Dave McCormick, flanked by Donald Trump, said companies had announced more than $90bn of investments “in data centres, energy and power infrastructure, and workforce and AI training projects” in the state.
But community pushback has been so intense that Shapiro has taken note. On 27 May he unveiled voluntary “Governor’s Responsible Infrastructure Development” (GRID) standards, which ask developers to provide a community outreach plan, commit to a certain number of jobs, and minimise air pollution by using a backup energy system that relies on zero‑emission energy storage. The standards also require developers to bring their own energy generation or pay for grid upgrades. A public records request – first reported by Heatmap and also obtained by the Guardian – revealed that Amazon got an advance look at the guidelines. Rick Siger, the secretary of Pennsylvania’s department of community and economic development, wrote in an email to Amazon Web Services colleagues that the governor’s office wanted to engage Amazon to make the guidelines “strong and workable”, adding that the “principles are intended to be voluntary, and the governor is not proposing to ban or even discourage data centres”.
However, not everyone is satisfied. State Senator Katie Muth, a Democrat whose district includes East Vincent, introduced a bipartisan three‑year moratorium bill on 29 May that would halt construction of new “hyperscale” data centres using at least 20 megawatts, as well as expansions that would push existing centres over that threshold. She has also introduced legislation to prevent data centres from being classified as public utilities, which would deny them access to powers like eminent domain. Muth joins lawmakers in at least 12 other states and Democratic senators in Congress in pushing for temporary bans. “The battle is likely not over,” she said after the East Vincent rejection.
The politics have scrambled traditional alliances. Shapiro’s Republican opponent in the governor’s race, state treasurer Stacy Garrity, has called for a “pause” on data centre development, aligning herself with the moratorium movement – even though she advocated for placing data centres in rural communities as recently as January. She has characterised Shapiro’s new guidelines as “damage control” after he “rolled out the red carpet” for massive projects. The governor’s office dismissed her claims as “desperate”, citing her “long record of supporting completely unregulated data centre development”. Meanwhile, Donald Trump signed an executive order in December 2025 aimed at limiting states’ ability to regulate AI, directing federal agencies to challenge state laws deemed overly burdensome to the industry and threatening to withhold federal funding from states with conflicting regulations.
Environmental and health fears: the real cost of the AI boom
While the political wrangling continues, residents across Pennsylvania are worried about tangible threats to their health, their wallets and their environment. The US is home to more data centres than any other country – about 4,200, according to Data Center Map, roughly 40% of the global total – and thousands more are planned or under construction, driven by an estimated $700bn in AI infrastructure spending this year from just four Silicon Valley giants. But the rapid build‑out is colliding with communities that feel overwhelmed.
In East Vincent, the prospect of air pollution from an on‑site gas‑fired power plant and diesel backup generators is a central fear. Donald Hyman’s congestive heart failure makes him particularly vulnerable to poor air quality, and he is not alone. Julie McNamara, associate policy director at the Union of Concerned Scientists’ Climate and Energy program, noted that there is “no precedent for data centres, given the scale and speed of their spread”. She said: “They are not playing in a regulatory framework that had them in mind – so it is absolutely a moment of gaps and loopholes. Regulators are scrambling to keep up: there hasn’t been anything in place – really, truly – for these types of facilities yet.”
Noise is another concern. Veterans at the Southeastern Veterans’ Center worried that constant humming from generators could trigger PTSD. Those living closer to the proposed site also raised the risk of ground contamination during construction, given the site’s history of institutional neglect. Pennhurst Holdings said it has already conducted an environmental investigation and remediated the site for industrial use, but some residents remain sceptical.
Beyond immediate health impacts, the sheer energy consumption of data centres is pushing up electricity prices. Federal data shows that power prices in Pennsylvania rose about 20% between November 2024 and 2025 – one of the highest rates in the country. PJM Interconnection, the regional grid operator, predicts a significant increase in electricity generation needed by 2030, much of it attributed to data centres. A Gallup poll published in May found that 71% of Americans oppose the construction of AI data centres in their local areas; in Pennsylvania, an Emerson College poll from December found that 42% of residents do not want them near their communities, while only 34% support them. The same poll showed that 70% of Pennsylvanians support requiring data centres to provide their own energy generation.
Beth Livensperger, who is fighting a proposed data centre in Lehigh Valley, said a statewide moratorium would give communities time to organise and research the environmental and public health effects. “I’m 100% for it: it would give time for the politics to settle out a little more,” she said.
In Archbald, a town in Lackawanna County, six data centre proposals are expected to cover almost 15% of the borough. Residents are angry about how close they would be to schools and homes. The pressure has become so intense that three of the seven members of the local planning board resigned, two citing concerns about their safety. Mayor Shirley Barrett told the Washington Post: “This debate has destroyed this community. We want answers, but we have no clue what is going on because this is all happening so quickly.” Even the governor visited Archbald in May to hear residents’ concerns and discuss his new accountability standards – and he later removed one proposed complex from his fast‑track permitting programme, citing a lack of transparency and responsiveness.
In Montour County, more than 200 residents packed a fire station for a town hall to protest the power company Talen’s attempt to rezone hundreds of acres of agricultural land for a data centre complex. County commissioners ultimately denied Talen’s request, but the company said in February it would incorporate feedback and continue to pursue the project. Resident Sam Burleigh said farmers in the area have been approached by developers with “an ungodly amount of money” for their land.
What happens next: a rejection, an appeal and no end in sight
The East Vincent Township Supervisors’ unanimous vote to reject the Pennhurst Holdings proposal was a clear victory for local residents, but it may prove temporary. The developers have said they will appeal, and an attorney for the company noted that it remains to be seen “whether East Vincent Township has met their obligation to allow a data centre in their township or not”. The company has not disclosed which tech firm would use the facility.
State Senator Muth acknowledged that the fight is far from over. “The battle is likely not over,” she said, summing up the mood of a community that has won a skirmish but faces a long war over the shape of Pennsylvania’s future – and the power of the AI boom to reshape the land, the air and the lives of those who live there.
