A quiet boom is taking place in Pennsylvania. In former industrial parks, decommissioned thermal plants, and repurposed buildings, data centers are emerging with the promise of jobs, investment, and digital leadership. But behind that promise lie pressing questions about energy, water, emissions, and land use that the state has yet to fully address.

According to the specialized site Data Center Map, Pennsylvania has at least 88 active data centers spread across a dozen cities. Philadelphia hosts more than 30 facilities, including the historic 401 North Broad Street building, operated by companies like Netrality and Equinix. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, has 35 centers and is developing a growing cluster at Nova Place on the North Side, driven by providers such as Iron Mountain, Expedient, and EdgeConneX.

The state's strategic location—between the New York and Washington D.C. markets—its legacy industrial infrastructure, relatively low energy costs, and the presence of universities like Carnegie Mellon and the University of Pennsylvania all help explain this boom. Broader structural factors also play a role: big tech companies need to diversify their locations, reduce costs, and find physical space to expand.

But what’s truly shifting the paradigm is artificial intelligence. Models like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude require a level of data processing that significantly multiplies traditional electricity usage. The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects that data centers could account for 4% of global electricity consumption by 2026, up from 2% in 2022. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that, domestically, data centers could consume up to 9% of all electricity nationwide by 2030.

That growth doesn't come free. Data centers need clean, stable, and continuous power supply. Companies like Meta have already signed 20-year supply agreements with nuclear plants, such as the Clinton Clean Energy Center in Illinois, to secure more than 1,100 megawatts of zero-emission energy. Other projects from Microsoft and Google are directly investing in solar, wind, and hydroelectric energy.

One of the most emblematic projects in Pennsylvania is in Homer City. In the western part of the state, a former coal-fired power plant is being converted into a data center campus powered by clean energy. The project, with an estimated investment of \$10 billion, promises 1,000 permanent jobs and is projected to become the largest energy consumer in the state once operational.

However, the transition is not without friction. In Allegheny County, where Pittsburgh is located, electricity providers like Duquesne Light have warned that a single large-scale data center could consume up to 30% of the local grid’s maximum load capacity, placing heavy strain on existing infrastructure. The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) has launched public hearings to assess this risk and design tariff mechanisms that protect households from rate hikes. Additionally, some municipalities have raised concerns about the impact of these centers on water resources due to their intensive use of water-based cooling systems.

There is also a transparency and public oversight issue. While Pennsylvania offers sales and use tax exemptions for equipment installed in certified data centers—through a program established by Act 25 of 2021—not all projects publicly disclose detailed information about their energy consumption, power sources, or cumulative environmental impact. These tax incentives, which can last up to 25 years, require investment and job creation commitments, but in practice, public monitoring and cost-benefit evaluation remain limited.

Even so, data centers represent an opportunity for Pennsylvania’s economic reinvention. In cities once defined by steel, coal, or railroads, this new economy built on information and data processing offers the prospect of high-skilled jobs, investment attraction, and regional revitalization. But that future will only materialize if energy, environmental, and urban planning decisions are made with long-term vision.

Pennsylvania, once central to the industrial revolution, could also play a leading role in the digital revolution. The challenge is to avoid repeating past mistakes—sacrificing land and quality of life for promises of progress without proper planning. For the cloud to be truly sustainable, it must also grow roots.