PA Dem Senator Intros 6 Bills to Block $92B Data Center Investment
Last October, a seven-member, all-Democrat group of Pennsylvania House of Representatives members announced a six-bill legislative package aimed at regulating the “responsible development” of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers in the state (see PA Dems Intro Multiple Bills to Block AI Data Centers in the State). “Responsible development” is a euphemism for “no development” of new AI data centers. The proposed onerous legislation focuses on environmental and community impacts related to the centers’ water and energy use, emergency preparedness, community standards, and transparency. This week, PA State Senator Lisa Boscola of Bethlehem (near Allentown, north of Philadelphia) put out a call for a package of six bills she plans to introduce in the Senate to “protect” the good citizens of PA from data centers. Here we go again. Read More “PA Dem Senator Intros 6 Bills to Block $92B Data Center Investment”
Deep River Data, a company with connections to the cryptocurrency industry, wants to drill for natural gas in Lee County, North Carolina. However, production from the well would not be used to power crypto mining, but instead to fuel an AI data center. If approved, the project would be the first commercial well drilled into the Triassic Basin, a natural gas repository underlying North Carolina and other Eastern Seaboard states. The planned well is conventional, not shale, so it involves no (or very little) fracking. Yet lefty environmentalists have whipped up opposition from the locals by urging them to “ban fracking.” 
Back in February, MDN told you that a company called PowerConneX had pre-applied to build a 120-megawatt natural gas-fired power plant at a 49-acre site in New Albany, Licking County (near Columbus) that will host a data center (see 
Data centers—large facilities full of computers—have been in the news a lot over the past year. The internet and tech companies like Facebook, Google, and Amazon gave rise to data centers. But a new/renewed emphasis emerged a year ago with the unveiling of artificial intelligence (AI), which is now being used by a large portion of the population. Did you know that there are currently 4,149 active data centers in the U.S.? And that another 2,788 have been announced/planned, primarily related to AI? That’s from a fantastic new report from the American Edge Project (AEP) and the Technology Councils of North America (TECNA). Earlier this week, they released “America’s AI Surge: Powering Investment, Jobs, and Growth in Every State” (full copy below). We’ve extracted information specific to the Marcellus/Utica region from the report. 
In April, Knighthead Capital Management, Homer City Redevelopment (HCR), and Kiewit Power Constructors Co. announced a plan to convert the former Homer City Generating Station, previously the largest coal-fired power plant in Pennsylvania (Indiana County, 50 miles east of Pittsburgh) into a more than 3,200-acre natural gas-powered data center campus, designed to meet the growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (see 
Ohio already has 217 data centers with more on the way. Data centers are warehouses filled with computer equipment that generates a lot of heat. To cool down the computers, data centers use massive amounts of water. If data centers want to get rid of that water after it’s been used, they have to apply for a permit called the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) through the Ohio EPA. Currently, data centers must apply for an individual NPDES permit, which is detailed and unique to their operations. The OEPA is looking to streamline the process to make it faster and easier. That’s a good thing. 
MDN was among the first to tell readers that so-called environmental groups were quickly morphing from anti-fracking to anti-data center. Over the past several months, we’ve observed in various posts how opposition to data centers (from the same people who oppose fracking and shale energy) has gone from local and regional anti groups (see 
In early April, MDN brought you the exciting news that pipeline giant Williams, via its newly-minted subsidiary, Will-Power, is planning to build two Utica/Marcellus gas-fired power plants in the New Albany International Business Park in Licking County, Ohio, near Columbus, to power a massive new Meta (Facebook) data center complex (see 
Earlier this year, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and PJM Interconnection, the country’s largest electric grid operator (covering PA, WV, and OH, among other states), began to grapple with the issue of co-locating power plants with data centers (see 
U.S. natural gas production and demand reached record highs in 2025, with the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projecting continued growth in output and LNG exports through 2026. Driven by surging international demand in Europe and Asia, the U.S. has become the world’s largest LNG exporter. This natural gas resurgence is bolstered by the Trump administration’s support and significant investments from major energy firms prioritizing gas as a so-called transition fuel (it’s actually a destination fuel). Consequently, U.S. natural gas pipeline capacity is set for its biggest one-year expansion since 2008. Surging demand from LNG exporters, data centers, and manufacturing is driving a $50 billion investment boom. 
Democrats in Virginia are experiencing political ecstasy at the prospect of reversing four years of common-sense energy policies under outgoing Governor Glenn Youngkin. Gov. Youngkin removed the state from the odious Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) carbon tax scheme. Incoming Gov. Abigail Spanberger has pledged to re-enroll the state in the program. Youngkin vetoed bills that would have favored unreliable renewable energy. Now, the Dems will not only have Spanberger as Governor, but hardened leftist Ghazala Hashmi as Lt. Governor, and a strong majority in both chambers of the legislature. They are already planning to reintroduce bills favoring renewables and blocking new data centers. It’s a crying shame what Virginia has done in electing these radicals to lead it. 
A new RBN article takes a stab at distinguishing between the hype of future data center power demand and the reality of current grid consumption. Despite projections of massive energy usage, verifying actual draw is difficult due to utility confidentiality and behind-the-meter generation. RBN’s analysis reveals that today’s largest consumers are long-established campuses rather than new builds; specifically, Google’s Council Bluffs and Microsoft’s Quincy facilities top the list with estimated loads of 500–600 MW. The article concludes that because substantial capacity takes over a decade to scale, the market should remain skeptical of new facilities claiming immediate, massive power consumption. 
The rapid expansion of data centers, driven by AI and cloud computing, is creating a surge in energy demand that exceeds renewable capabilities, forcing a shift toward natural gas. Good news for the Marcellus/Utica. However, building new pipelines to handle the extra gas needed is not an overnight process. Industry experts at the recent LDC Gas Forums’ Nat Gas to Power event proposed an ingenious solution that uses existing pipelines to move more gas to new data center customers. 