As opposition to data centers grows across Pennsylvania, one builder sought to push its project over the finish line by offering skeptical residents a $10K payout.
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NorthPoint Development is looking to build a 300-megawatt hyperscale facility on about 1,300 acres in Hazle Township, roughly 40 miles south of Scranton. The company originally aimed to start construction this year and deliver the campus in 2029, but pushback from residents has become a major hindrance.
The developer proposed a $165M community benefits agreement in June, including $45M to be spread equally across about 4,500 “eligible” households, The Wall Street Journal reported this week.
“Residents may use these funds at their discretion, including home improvements, energy upgrades such as solar installation, landscaping, or other household priorities,” NorthPoint said in a June press release.
The funds would be disbursed if local officials give the developer the green light to start work on the first of 15 buildings.
While each check would make up more than 15% of the township’s median 2024 household income, it still wasn’t enough to convince several of the residents whom WSJ interviewed.
A common concern was the impact a data center could have on their property values. One resident recalled how the previous warehouse boom swallowed up his favorite deer hunting spot.
“I think it works the opposite way, because most people have the opinion that, ‘hey, are they trying to bribe us here?’” retired homeowner Ed Negra, who has been organizing opposition to the data center, told WSJ.
NorthPoint didn’t respond to Bisnow’s request for comment Tuesday. Chief Communications Officer Brent Miles told WSJ that the $10K check idea came about in the wake of a raucous public meeting.
“I think we’ve got something here that’s on the cutting edge,” Miles said, “really in direct response to ‘what’s in it for me?’”
The 135 data center proposals across Pennsylvania tracked by the market intelligence firm Cleanview have become an increasingly tense political flashpoint over the past year and a half.
Shifting public opinion led Gov. Josh Shapiro to temper his initially full-throated support for the data center industry last month as he seeks reelection in November.
He signed an executive order that he characterized as “the strictest guardrails in the nation.”
The order requires any new data center projects to get approval from local authorities before receiving the state government’s blessing.
It also axed all data centers from Shapiro’s signature Fast Track program — focused on cutting red tape for businesses — and required operators to pay for their own power and meet water use standards.
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