Archbald, Pennsylvania, a town of about 7,000 people, is facing the prospect of six large data center campuses being built within its borders, a scale of development that local residents compare to adding dozens of major retail stores to a small community.
The proposed data centers have triggered plans for major new electrical infrastructure, including a PPL substation, switchyards, and approximately eight miles of transmission lines running through Archbald and neighboring towns like Jessup, Olyphant, and Jefferson Township.
Residents who moved to Archbald after its decline as a coal town say they valued the return of wildlife to the surrounding forests, describing evening sightings of black bears, deer, coyotes, owls, and turkeys as signs of environmental recovery.
At a public meeting in Scott Township, opponents of the PPL Archbald Mountain project expressed frustration over what they see as a lack of clear answers about the necessity and timing of the infrastructure, with one resident saying they attended to learn if the project was already a “done deal.”
PPL officials maintain that the transmission upgrades are needed to maintain grid reliability and to connect new customers, explicitly citing a local data center as one of the new loads the project would serve.
The utility emphasizes that large customers like data centers are required to pay directly for the transmission infrastructure needed to serve their operations, a point officials say provides safeguards against costs being passed to other ratepayers.
Despite this assurance, many residents remain skeptical, viewing the transmission project as intrinsically linked to the data center boom and fearing it will undermine the town’s recent environmental recovery and quality of life.
Jack Swingle of Archbald said residents see their opposition as part of an ongoing fight, stating that their only recourse is to stand up and say they do not seek this level of development to happen in their community.
The PPL Archbald Mountain project is scheduled to begin construction next summer and is not expected to be completed until sometime in 2030.
Why are residents concerned about the new power lines if PPL says data centers will pay for them?
Residents worry that the transmission project would not proceed without the data center demand, and they fear the infrastructure will enable further industrialization that conflicts with their vision for the town’s future, regardless of who pays for the lines.
What specific wildlife have residents observed in the areas near proposed data center sites?
Residents have reported seeing black bears, deer, coyotes, owls, and turkeys in the forests surrounding their properties, which they view as evidence of the town’s ecological recovery from its industrial past.