Upper Merion board denies hyperscale data center campus near King of Prussia

This story is part of the WHYY News Climate Desk, bringing you news and solutions for our changing region.

From the Poconos to the Jersey Shore to the mouth of the Delaware Bay, what do you want to know about climate change? What would you like us to cover? Get in touch.

People cheered, cried and hugged each other Thursday after a developer’s plan to build five data centers totaling more than 4.6 million square feet in Upper Merion Township was rejected.

During a contentious debate, the township’s Board of Supervisors accused developer Brian O’Neill of “bullying” and expressed their “shock” over applications that they called insufficient and lackluster.

Chairperson Tina Garzillo said the township has not received any landscape, traffic impact, emergency management or sanitary sewer plans from O’Neill.

“The data centers at best are speculative and conceptual in nature, as evidenced by the lack of necessary details on the plan,” she said.

O’Neill had estimated the King of Prussia-area data center campus would generate $55.4 million a year in local tax revenue, with nearly $38 million going to the Upper Merion Area School District.

However, residents rejected his arguments, voicing concerns about air pollution, water use and noise. A petition against the proposal has received more than 17,000 signatures.

Before the vote, dozens of residents pleaded with the board to reject the measure.

“You’re all focused on making this community a community that people are proud to call home. You’ve created a community that is willing to stand with you and fight on your side because you have helped this community become filled with good neighbors,” said Zach Davis, a resident who has been advocating against the proposals. “We are once again putting our faith in you to make the morally right and legally right decision. Please vote no on all five of these proposals tonight.”

Local data center pushback in King of Prussia area

Data centers house the computer servers required to run internet services worldwide. While they have been around since the mid-20th century, the acceleration of power-hungry artificial intelligence has boosted demand for larger sites.

The proposed data center campus in Upper Merion Township would have been built at the Discovery Labs — a health care and life sciences office run by O’Neill’s company. The developer is also seeking approval for a data center in nearby Plymouth Township.

The proposed King of Prussia-area data center is planned to generate its own power to reduce strain on the electrical grid, preventing electricity bills from rising. But the site proposal included natural gas turbines and diesel backup generators, which can exacerbate respiratory problems and other health conditions.

O’Neill said the facility would use scrubbers to control emissions. He said he’s also held discussions with Delaware’s Bloom Energy about the potential to use fuel cells on site, but hasn’t finalized any deals. A data center under construction in Vineland, New Jersey, plans to use Bloom fuel cells.

King of Prussia-area residents were also concerned about water use, which in some areas of the country has threatened drinking water supplies. Hyperscale data centers can consume up to 5 million gallons of drinking water per day to cool the facilities and their servers to prevent overheating.

O’Neill said his data center would use a closed-loop system to reuse the water and reduce its strain on water supplies.

Still, residents were concerned the proposal would impact their quality of life, pollute the air, create noise and reduce property values.

“It would be devastating, not only for our quality of life, but for any equity we have in the home. We are in semi-retirement so this home is something we’re probably going to get rid of soon. If we lose that equity we’ve been working on our entire lives, it would destroy our savings,” said resident John Shanley the day before the vote.

Township clears potential lawsuit to make way for vote

The plan for the hyperscale data center campus faced pushback in July, when Upper Merion planning commissioners voted not to recommend three of O’Neill’s five projects to the Board of Supervisors.

The commissioners were scheduled to make recommendations on the other two data center proposals Wednesday night, but were prevented from doing so after O’Neill filed a lawsuit against the township that sought an extension for his applications to be reviewed. The developer said he was not afforded adequate time to address concerns raised by township officials.

On Thursday afternoon, a Montgomery County judge vacated the injunction, which allowed the Board of Supervisors to reject O’Neill’s request for an extension.

Tensions rise during hearing over King of Prussia data center

During Thursday’s hearing, O’Neill and township solicitor Kailie Melchior argued over the developer’s attempts to discuss official expert reviews of his applications. After Melchior said the hearing was not designed to walk through each review comment, O’Neill and his attorney accused the board of having their minds made up.

Vice chairperson William Jenaway said O’Neill had an opportunity to respond to review comments previously, but did not do so in a timely fashion. When O’Neill later pushed the board about whether the township’s code requires developers to respond to comments within a certain timeframe, Jenaway accused the developer of bullying.

“I just want it on the record that you’ve been bullying this board now for some time … and intimidation, coercion, and bullying are not good qualities in a professional leader,” he said.

After the hearing, Upper Merion resident Patti Erickson said she was “elated” when each data center was denied by the board. She said she felt heard by the board, and that it was clear they did their homework.

“It is huge. I mean, people were crying in the audience. They had been so worried about the environmental impact with the pollution, the noise, the heat. People were just concerned about their health, their children’s health, and then they’re concerned about property values and just how that would impact their daily lives,” Erickson said. “That’s why you heard so many people come out to these meetings. These people were truly concerned.”

A recent survey by the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center shows opposition to data centers is rising sharply. In four months, the Penn research found a 12-point jump in widespread resistance to new data center construction.

Developer could appeal decision

O’Neill could appeal the decision or submit new or revised plans. The developer declined a request for comment, but told WHYY News partner 6ABC he plans to appeal.

Courtney Smith, an Upper Merion Township resident who has been fighting against the plan, said residents will continue to push back against any appeal or new application.

“Our board had the courage to do the right thing last night. We have told our community officials that we will stand by them in the fight,” she said. “I know it’s not over. This is a very important first step. So, Mr. O’Neill can proceed how he sees fit, but we’re not going away either.”