How the fight over US datacenters is scrambling this state’s politics: ‘We don’t want it’

A plan to build a nearly 2m sq ft methane-powered datacenter complex in East Vincent, Pennsylvania, has been rejected by local officials, but the developers intend to appeal, intensifying a statewide political fight over the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure [1]. The proposed facility, from developer Pennhurst Holdings, would sit less than 600ft from the Southeastern Veterans’ Center [1]. Resident Donald Hyman, 62, who is recovering from congestive heart failure, voiced opposition to air pollution from on-site power generation. “You’re trying to force something on us we don’t want. We don’t want it, period,” Hyman said [1]. Veterans at the center have also raised concerns that construction noise could trigger residents with post-traumatic stress disorder and that the work could release harmful contaminants into soil and water [1]. The local backlash has scrambled Pennsylvania politics. Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro is courting major out-of-state investment to make the state a leader in AI, while his Republican challenger, State Treasurer Stacy Garrity, has called for a moratorium on new large datacenters [1]. A bipartisan moratorium bill was introduced on 29 May by Democratic State Senator Katie Muth, whose district includes East Vincent [1]. Shapiro unveiled voluntary accountability guidelines for developers on 27 May, which his office says will incentivize responsible building, but Garrity dismissed them as “damage control” [1]. The fight in East Vincent reflects a national tension. The U.S. holds about 4,200 datacenters, roughly 40% of the global total, and four Silicon Valley firms are spending around $700bn on AI infrastructure this year alone [1]. The boom in generative AI, which relies on large-scale data centers, has raised concerns about high energy consumption and environmental impacts [2]. In Pennsylvania, power prices rose about 20% between November 2024 and 2025, one of the highest rates in the country [1]. A December poll found 42% of Pennsylvanians do not want to live next to datacenters, while 34% support them being built nearby [1]. Nationally, seven in 10 Americans oppose the construction of AI datacenters in their local areas, according to a Gallup poll published in May [1]. East Vincent Township, with a population of 6,821 at the 2010 census, is a small community in Chester County [4]. The township supervisors voted unanimously to reject the Pennhurst Holdings proposal, but the company plans to challenge the decision in court [1]. The site’s history adds a layer to the dispute; the property once housed the Pennhurst state school and hospital, which was documented for appalling conditions in 1968 and shut permanently in 1987 after a lawsuit over inhumane treatment [1]. A Halloween attraction has operated there since 2010 [1].