AFP, HAZLE TOWNSHIP, Pennsylvania
On his terrace overlooking the forest in eastern Pennsylvania, Ed Negra lays out four letters. All are from a developer promising a US$10,000 check to each household once its data center is running.
“I call it a bribe,” the US retiree said.
The scene is picture-perfect. Autumn leaves are turning russet, and there is a stunning mountain view in this corner of Pennsylvania, a key state in the US’ upcoming midterm elections.
An aerial view shows an area of Erika Cook’s property in Sugarloaf Township, where proposed power lines would run to feed the proposed data center development called “Project Hazelnut” in Pennsylvania, on Oct. 6.
Photo: AFP
“We thought it was a beautiful place to retire,” said the septuagenarian, who used to manage a large building-supply store in neighboring New Jersey.
He and his wife settled in a sprawling gated community with round-the-clock security.
Eagle Rock Resort in Hazle Township has hundreds of comfortable homes scattered through the woods, two golf courses, swimming pools, an equestrian center and even a few ski slopes for the winter.
An aerial view shows the land prepared for the development of a proposed data center called “Project Hazelnut” near the Eagle Rock Resort community in Hazle Township, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 6.
Photo: AFP
“We didn’t know until we heard all the noise” of chainsaws in late 2024, Negra said.
More than 500 hectares of land below the resort were cleared to build the future server complex.
Residents quickly mobilized. They were furious that no one had warned them, and they worried about noise and pollution.
Their fight echoes many conflicts across the US over data centers, which have become an issue in the Nov. 3 vote.
Local opposition blocked or delayed at least 75 data center projects in the first three months of this year, according to Data Center Watch, which tracks resistance to the industry.
Polls show that the hostility crosses party lines. Nonetheless, US President Donald Trump fervently backs these projects in the name of US dominance in artificial intelligence, and he chastises those who oppose them.
In Hazle Township, residents won a court-ordered halt to construction, as well as a municipal moratorium.
A few pieces of heavy equipment sit idle on the vast cleared tract. The logs have already been hauled away.
However, developer NorthPoint Development has not given up.
Its letters now flood local mailboxes, saying: “There is a lot of misinformation and fear that has circulated about data centers and our project.”
The letters also lay out a US$165 million fund for the township and its residents.
The money would pay for a new police station, lower trash fees and more.
Part of it, US$45 million, is to be paid directly to the 4,500 households once the data center’s first building goes into service.
In the former mining town, one in six residents lives below the poverty line, official data showed.
“For a young, struggling couple ... living from paycheck to paycheck, US$10,000 is a lot of money,” said Jeff Fasnacht, a retired high-school teacher who lives in the gated community.
Like Negra, he sees the offer as a bribe. He also calls it “a drop in the bucket” compared with how much value his home could lose if the project goes ahead.
“This was supposed to be pristine forest forever,” the golf enthusiast said.
Neither the developer nor township officials responded to AFP’s requests for comment.
Across the valley, residents of rural Sugarloaf Township are fighting a high-voltage power line that is likely intended to supply the data center.
They are not eligible for the possible US$10,000 check.
“There’s no amount of money that can replace or take away the beauty, the tranquility that we live in,” said Annie Vinatieri, who shares a house with her in-laws, her husband and their young son.
She has been fighting the power line for almost two years.
“This fight feels akin to a David and Goliath fight,” she said.
She takes heart in how many residents have rallied against tech interests: “The empowerment is unbelievable.”
Erika Cook, 42, lives nearby and works remotely for an insurance company.
She and her husband raise a few chickens and keep a vegetable garden. They also tap maple trees for syrup in the woods on their property.
Part of that land is now the target of an eminent domain proceeding to make room for a huge transmission tower.
Republicans dominate at the ballot box in this region. Cook said opposition to data centers has one virtue here.
“It’s bringing people together ... across party lines,” she said.