Critical Vote On Data Center In Plymouth Twp. Monday As Tensions Rise

PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP, PA — Tensions are mounting ahead of a critical vote Monday night that could determine the future of the controversial Plymouth Township data center proposal.

The zoning heard board meeting is set for 7 p.m. Monday on 700 Belvoir Road. The public is invited to attend.

Over the weekend and throughout the day on Monday, a national nonprofit watchdog launched a door-to-door and billboard campaign calling local residents to action. The Tech Oversight Project, which works to hold major tech companies accountable for irresponsible projects around the country, will run a "Make Big Tech Pay" billboard truck around the area Monday.

"We need to Make Big Tech Pay for data centers that are driving up our energy bills and damaging our environment, all while collecting massive taxpayer handouts," their website reads. "They need to foot the bill, not us."

Related: 'Mysterious Big Tech': Conshy Data Center Proposal Faces Intense Opposition

The proposed center, at the site of the now shuttered Cleveland Cliffs steel plant on 900 Conshohocken Road, has been heavily opposed by local officials and residents who point to fears of the astronomical electricity bills and devastating water usage that comes with similar facilities.

While data centers, facilities that store computer servers and other IT infrastructure, have existed for decades, their demand has skyrocketed in the past two years due to the artificial intelligence boom. The supercomputers required to power the massive undertaking need more and more space, and big tech companies are increasingly relying on government workarounds to get their projects hastily approved, sometimes with little oversight.

Gov. Josh Shapiro has given huge subsidies to tech companies like Amazon to build data centers in Pennsylvania. Not only has his administration marketed them as a job creating boon, but they're working with state legislators to pass House Bill 502, which would effectively bypass local zoning boards and put all control over approving projects in the hand of a small board handpicked by the state. Numerous elected state leaders, including both Democrats and Republicans, have expressed support for the bill.Ω

"It is extremely disappointing to see my local representatives advocate for the silencing of local voices in our communities," No Conshy Data Centers, one of the local groups organizing resistance to the Conshohocken plan, said in a statement. "We are the ones who will live next to these energy infrastructure projects. We will suffer the daily effects of their environmental pollution."

Concerned Plymouth Township area residents have also pointed to the fact that identity of the big tech company behind the proposal has been shrouded in secrecy from the start.

Specifically, the Monday night vote is in regards to a "special exception" required for developers to build the center. It calls for a 10-building complex, with two floors in each structure, amounting to a total of 2 million square feet. Generators and gas turbines will be located inside and between the buildings.