“It is a tale, told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. – from “Macbeth,” by William Shakespeare
“Attenuation” is one of many technical terms with which I’ve become grudgingly familiar over untold hours of “expert” testimony coughed up by a parade of paid apologists for the data center invasion.
In the science of acoustics, attenuation describes “the muffling or dampening of sound waves as they travel through air or physical barriers.” Distance, trees, topography and structures serve as buffers that “attenuate” sound, theoretically softening the impacts of harmful noise. Attenuation is the opposite of amplification.
A “No Power Generation Facilities” is on display at Valley View High School during a meeting on Monday, June 22, 2026 where representatives for Essential Energy LLC returned to Archbald for their third conditional use hearing as they seek approval for a 400 megawatt power plant. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO)
Area residents attend a hearing Monday June 22, 2026, at Valley View High School. Essential Energy LLC is seeking approval for a 400 megawatt power plant on Eynon Jermyn Road. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO)
James Barnes, left, presents the preliminary results of a preliminary sound study at Valley View High School on Monday June 22, 2026. Essential Energy LLC is seeking approval for a 400 megawatt power plant on Eynon Jermyn Road. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO)
Archbald Borough Councilman Lisa Osborne, left, asks questions during a hearing at Valley View High School on Monday, June 22, 2026. Essential Energy LLC is seeking approval for a 400 megawatt power plant on Eynon Jermyn Road. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO)
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A “No Power Generation Facilities” is on display at Valley View High School during a meeting on Monday, June 22, 2026 where representatives for Essential Energy LLC returned to Archbald for their third conditional use hearing as they seek approval for a 400 megawatt power plant. (CHAD SEBRING/STAFF PHOTO)
Sounds good, but how does attenuation apply to sources of sound that are entirely speculative and as such may as well be imaginary? This ridiculous question was the underlying theme of Monday’s Archbald Borough Council hearing on Essential Energy LLC’s proposed 400-megawatt power plant next to Staback Park in Archbald.
A crowd of about 200 gathered in the auditorium of Valley View High School (which at this point seems to have been built exclusively to host data center hearings) for testimony on how much or how little noise pollution the proposed plant would bring to one of the borough’s most peaceful public spaces.
Acoustical engineer James D. Barnes presented a seven-page “preliminary sound study” that despite its airy contents landed with a thunderous thud. Council and residents who regularly attend these hearings are grudgingly familiar with “expert” testimony that offers scant detail and abundant insults to their intelligence, but Barnes’ testimony plumbed exciting new depths of futility.
“This is insulting,” Councilwoman Lisa Osborne said, triggering raucous cheers that might have been heard at the proposed power plant site, less than a mile from the high school.
Barnes’ report, which he described as a “paper study,” used computer modeling to show that the proposed power plant “could” meet borough zoning noise regulations. The “study” did not consider the equipment that would be used or its layout, which apparently remain unknown even to the witnesses tasked with selling the project. The “study” also didn’t include on-site measurements of ambient sound.
Barnes didn’t consult with the borough’s acoustical consultant, which he said he might have done had he known the borough hired one. Due to its threadbare methodology, Barnes’ seven-page “paper study” isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on. It was literally a sound study that signified nothing.
Barnes didn’t seem to grasp why that was such a big deal.
“How much detail do you really need at this stage of the project?” he asked. (Cue sad trombone.)
I couldn’t believe my own ears. I turned to Times-Tribune Staff Writer Frank Wilkes Lesnefsky and asked, “Did he really just say that?
He did. And he was just warming up. Somehow comparing a loud concert (which people like) to industrial noise nobody asked for, Barnes said noise is “subjective.” Some people are bothered by it. Others aren’t.
Asked by Council Vice President Joe Altier III if he believes there are “people that like the sound of a gas co-gen plant at night,” Barnes responded, “I can imagine somebody, not to be flip or anything, but the plant operator?”
The crowd heard that as “flip,” because it was. It was clear Barnes did not expect his “preliminary sound study” to trigger fury in the crowd and council. His face was so red, I considered dialing 911.
As the “expert” testimony reaches dizzying new lows at each hearing, it’s difficult not to consider the possibility that some and maybe most of the data center and power plant proposals in Archbald are actually nothing more than amateurish attempts at “natural gaslighting.”
Call me a “conspiracy theorist” (it’s new, but some do), but listening to Barnes’ lazy, hazy testimony, it occurred to me that a “flood the zone” strategy may be in play — inundate and overwhelm officials and residents with decoy projects to distract from the ones backers truly hope will be approved.
Sounds crazy, but consider that there are only three major manufacturers of gas turbines on the planet. The “AI Boom” has overwhelmed their production capacities to the extent that there’s a five-to-seven-year wait for delivery. Billion-dollar, multinational corporations are paying millions of dollars just to score spots on the waiting list, and we’re supposed to believe that an Archbald-based developer has the money and influence to outspend and outmuscle international competition?
Kriger Construction President Jim Marzolino and Vice President David Stiles are principals in Essential Energy and the proposed 620,0000-square-foot Project Boson data center across the street from the power plant. The pair also plan to build four data centers and another three natural gas power plants above Business Route 6 in Dickson City.
Four power plants could require as many as eight turbines. Unless he has an as yet unidentified backer with bottomless pockets and platinum corporate clout, there’s no sane reason to believe Marzolino can secure a single turbine anytime soon.
If he can’t count on getting the parts for his power plant, it’s no wonder Marzolino’s hired “experts” offer testimony so speculative and sketchy that no sane council could responsibly approve the project.
For his big finish, Barnes hilariously compared the noise and vibration impacts of small 50-watt power plants near university research facilities with the 400-watt behemoth Essential Energy wants to build next to Staback Park.
“Many of them are, say, located near lab facilities, so the bigger issue is really with the lab rats and other things,” he said. “They don’t want to hear things, they don’t want to be vibrating at all…”
Councilwoman Osborne vibrated with indignation.
“Well, I hope our residents aren’t lab rats,” she said.
Depends on what side of the stage you’re on.
CHRIS KELLY, The Times-Tribune columnist, loves a sad trombone. Contact the writer: ckelly@scrantontimes.com; @cjkink on X; Chris Kelly, The Times-Tribune on Facebook; and @chriskellyink on Bluesky.
Chris Kelly (TIMES-TRIBUNE FILE)