Luzerne, PA — On Friday, following substantial public outcry from a packed room of more than 200 residents, the Hazle Township Board of Supervisors unanimously rejected a land application that would have enabled construction of the Project Hazelnut data center campus proposed by NorthPoint Development.

Hazle Township is the latest in Pennsylvania to reject data center construction. Mounting opposition comes as Governor Shapiro backs data center buildout, including at Project Hazlenut. Pennsylvania ranks third in the nation for proposed data centers. 

In response to the vote, Food & Water Watch Eastern Pennsylvania Senior Organizer Ginny Marcille-Kerslake issued the following statement: 

“Shapiro’s data center push will not fly in Pennsylvania. There is a reason why communities are pushing back on data centers, with residents showing up and speaking out, filling township meeting rooms in opposition  — they serve private interests at the expense of the community. The Hazle Township decision shows why local control over data center siting matters. Data centers risk strapping Pennsylvanians with high electricity bills, lower quality of life, health and environmental impacts, while developers and fossil fuel corporations stand to profit. Data centers have no place in our communities.” 

Friday’s vote followed public comment at a Supervisors meeting last week where Food & Water Watch’s Ginny Marcille-Kerslake noted that the proper process had not been followed: Data centers are not specifically permitted on the proposed property, and in accordance with the Township’s zoning ordinance, a vote on the project should have first gone to the Zoning Hearing Board for special exception. That had not happened. A vote on the project was postponed to Friday night, where it was unanimously rejected.

Food & Water Watch research sounds the alarm on the substantial environmental impacts stemming from fossil-fueled data centers and generative AI, finding that by 2028, AI in the United States could at least:  

• Consume enough electricity to power over 28 million households;  
• Require as much water to meet the indoor needs of 18.5 million households.

Food & Water Watch is calling for a national moratorium on data centers.