Philly suburb: Sure, build that data center—but first meet our 43 demands - Ars Technica

Overview

Philly suburb: Sure, build that data center—but first meet our 43 demands

The final condition will shock you! (It won’t. It’s taxes.)

Details

From New York to Texas, state and local governments have heard the message: Their constituents are wary of data centers. Across the political spectrum, large numbers of Americans agree that these facilities should pay taxes, cover the bill for water and power upgrades, keep noise to a minimum, and employ locals at decent wages. In other words, data centers should legitimately benefit the communities whose land and power they use.

Developers often express a willingness to do these things—until they see the specific list of requirements.

A pitched battle in the Philadelphia suburbs provides a vivid illustration of this dynamic. Developer Brian O’Neill wants to build a 2 million-square-foot data center in a former steel plant. Under Pennsylvania law, Plymouth Township (in which the plant is located) cannot simply say “no” to any lawful land use, but it can enforce zoning rules and require project mitigations in the name of health and safety.

According to the township, O’Neill’s company “represented that they would implement any provisions that the Township proposed.” The township developed a 43-point plan that covers nine printed pages. O’Neill balked.

His lawyers are now challenging the township’s zoning ordinance on the grounds that the conditions have become too burdensome to develop the facility.

On Monday night, Plymouth Township released a 12-page statement claiming that O’Neill’s challenge is “a blatant attempt by the Applicant to demand approval by tantrum. The Township will not entertain such theatrics.”

Lynne Viscio, president of the township council, told the Philadelphia Inquirer this week that O’Neill has “bullied” and “intimidated” township officials.

Council member Chris Manero offered the statement’s most conciliatory view, arguing that data centers can deliver technological and financial benefits. But he said officials should not have to sacrifice residents’ health and well-being to secure those benefits, and he too opposes the current application.

Tell me what you want, what you really, really want

Plymouth Township has helpfully published its entire list of requirements, which provides insight into what it has been hearing from residents and planners. The main concerns are power, water, pollution, and noise.

A partial list, paraphrased for clarity, includes these items:

Machinery installed on building roofs shall be screened by parapet sound walls.

A pre-construction noise study must be done to establish “baseline ambient noise and vibration levels” at different times of day. A post-construction noise study must be used to ensure that the site remains below established levels, especially at low frequencies.

The site may also not have “any perceptible vibration level causing the recurring rattling of windows, walls, floors, ceilings or household contents” nearby.

All electronic equipment on site shall be “shielded in a manner that no interference of radio, television, or other broadcast transmission shall be discerned by the boundary of the Subject Property.”

A thermal impact plan must identify all proposed sources of waste heat (both in air and water), show mitigation and shielding, and, where possible, reuse waste heat.

For cooling, the site must use a “closed loop” system that recirculates its coolant. The coolant must be non-toxic and “shall not be drawn from any public system, as provided herein, nor be discharged into a watercourse, sewer system or in a manner that could contaminate the ground water.”

An annual water consumption report is required, and the developer must not “draw water from the Schuylkill River or other watercourse nor from any public water system” except for restrooms and kitchens. Water may also not be discharged into the Schuylkill River, and a discharge plan must be prepared in advance.

The site must be “power self-sufficient through on-site power generation and not utilize public utilities to power the Project,” and it shall “attempt to utilize renewable power generation technology, with a preference for solar power, to the greatest extent possible.”

The site must use a “clean air micro-grid or a CHP [combined heat and power] system to address emissions and pollution.”

Buildings on the site shall not exceed two occupiable stories.

A pedestrian trail shall connect a sidewalk at the property to a nearby interstate overpass.

Trees and shrubs shall buffer any parts of the property abutting residential areas, for both noise abatement and visual screening.

The data center must recruit local workers and “commit to paying prevailing wage and benefit rates.”

The site must have a full “decommissioning plan” on file. No permits will be issued until the developer “shall provide financial security [in] the amount equal to the cost of decommissioning, which shall be held until released by the Township.”

Finally, the developer must provide assurances that it will pay all taxes and that it “shall not attempt to reduce the tax burden owed to the Township.”

To O’Neill, all of this looks like an attempt to keep him from making legal use of his land. He told the Inquirer this week that claims against him are a “bold-faced lie” [sic] and that he has already agreed to “the majority” of what the township wanted.

“We are sympathetic to the fact that they are under tremendous political scrutiny from people outside the township, as well as residents inside the township, and that makes giving a landowner their property rights… challenging,” he told the paper. “However, I am a landowner, and I do have rights, and it is their job to be impartial and fair in their analysis and response.”

O’Neill hopes to build six data centers across the area. Success may turn on whether these township demands are normal zoning conditions designed to protect residents—or so onerous that they amount to prohibition by another name.

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Key Takeaways

• Philly suburb: Sure, build that data center—but first meet our 43 demands

• The final condition will shock you

• From New York to Texas, state and local governments have heard the message: Their constituents are wary of data centers

• Developers often express a willingness to do these things—until they see the specific list of requirements

• A pitched battle in the Philadelphia suburbs provides a vivid illustration of this dynamic