East Whiteland, Chester County — Last night, after hundreds of residents packed an auditorium to voice opposition to a proposed data center development, the East Whiteland Planning Commission recommended that the Township Supervisors have increased scrutiny when considering data center developer Green Fig’s new plan. Green Fig is seeking to increase the expansion of their approved 1 million square foot data center to 1.7 million through an amendment rather than a new project application. The Planning Commission unanimously voted to recommend that the Board of Supervisors carefully consider the impacts of these projects and the zoning approval previously granted. 

Senator Katie Muth, whose district includes East Whiteland, was among those who testified against the rezoning. Muth has announced intent to file a three-year data center moratorium bill, in response to robust data center opposition across Pennsylvania. ​​According to FracTracker Alliance, developers have submitted proposals for at least 23 hyper-scale data centers in Pennsylvania.

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

“People showed up in East Whiteland to make their voices heard and we hope the Township acts accordingly to shut this project down once and for all. Pennsylvania needs a statewide moratorium that alleviates communities from having to take these arduous fights all by themselves.” 

“The state must aid communities trying to grapple with the impacts of a reckless data center buildout by passing a moratorium to stop the development until the government at all levels knows if they can balance data center development with the needs and wants of Pennsylvanians.”
Last week, Food & Water Watch released a first-of-its-kind report detailing the harms of the AI and data center boom infiltrating communities around the country. In October, Food & Water Watch became the first national group to call for a data center moratorium. Over 250 organizations have since joined the call — including 17 from Pennsylvania.