Data centers are expanding rapidly across Pennsylvania, bringing economic benefits but raising concerns about their impact on local resources, particularly power. In 2023, data centers generated $1.36 billion in Pennsylvania state and local tax revenue, according to advocates. However, nearly half a dozen new “large load” data centers proposed in the Susquehanna Valley sparked debates about their strain on resources, particularly the region’s power infrastructure.The North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s (NERC) Large Loads Task Force identified three key risks associated with data centers: power demand forecasting, resource adequacy, and transmission adequacy. These concerns are particularly pressing in areas like the Susquehanna Valley, where power supplies are already vulnerable during severe weather events.”We have never witnessed a power electronic load of this nature before,” said Dr. Nilanjan Ray Chaudhuri, a Penn State professor and expert in power systems. He explained that data centers consume power on a gigawatt scale — 1,000 times larger than typical household consumption.”In 2023, in the U.S., about 4.4% of the total load consumption was from data centers,” Chaudhuri said. “In 2028, some projections put that at around 12%.” A study by Texas A&M University’s Urban Resilience AI Lab, released in August, identified the Susquehanna Valley as a high-risk area for power outages during extreme weather. Chaudhuri noted the overlap between vulnerable regions and data center growth. “It so happens that in these hot spots where we have high vulnerability index, we are also seeing data center growth,” he said. “There has to be a structured approach for mitigation of that risk.”Advocates for data centers argue that these facilities are essential to modern life. “Data centers are everything we do every day, right? It is our electronic health care records. It’s our banking transactions. It’s online shopping. It’s online learning. How we work. It’s how we learn. It’s how we communicate,” said Dan Diorio, Vice President of State Policy for the Data Center Coalition.Diorio also highlighted the role of data center operators in improving infrastructure, adding that companies that build data centers pay for large portions of transmission lines, substations, and ways to build the power grid. Diorio proposed co-location solutions, such as Microsoft at Three Mile Island, where a private company can utilize an asset on the grid without directly impacting the utility grid. “Now you have an asset on the grid that was basically sitting out there where, you know, a private company can come in and do the offtake there and then not be, you know, directly on the utility grid,” Diorio said.During the interview with Chaudhuri, he mentioned Three Mile Island’s potential restart and how there’s uncertainties during severe weather events or other unexpected needs on the power grid that would force a data center to temporarily shut down operations.”That’s what this conversation is about. You know, that surplus of power will be immediately rerouted to serve loads elsewhere,” Chaudhuri said. “So, you cannot say that immediately it will make this system unstable or this generator unstable. This has to be studied very carefully.”The Pennsylvania House of Representatives recently proposed the “Data Center Act,” which could introduce regulations for data centers. The bill could place regulations on data centers. However, advocates, like Diorio, advised that the uncertainty of a “one-size-fits-all” solution could hamper growth in Pennsylvania, and cautioned legislators. Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler, D-184, Majority Chair of the House Energy Committee, told WGAL News 8 after a committee hearing in October that details in the original proposal for the Data Center Act could be changed.As legislators, researchers, and advocates continue discussions, the challenge remains to balance the economic benefits of data centers with the need for sustainable resource management.

HARRISBURG, Pa. —

Data centers are expanding rapidly across Pennsylvania, bringing economic benefits but raising concerns about their impact on local resources, particularly power. In 2023, data centers generated $1.36 billion in Pennsylvania state and local tax revenue, according to advocates.

However, nearly half a dozen new “large load” data centers proposed in the Susquehanna Valley sparked debates about their strain on resources, particularly the region’s power infrastructure.

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s (NERC) Large Loads Task Force identified three key risks associated with data centers: power demand forecasting, resource adequacy, and transmission adequacy.

These concerns are particularly pressing in areas like the Susquehanna Valley, where power supplies are already vulnerable during severe weather events.

“We have never witnessed a power electronic load of this nature before,” said Dr. Nilanjan Ray Chaudhuri, a Penn State professor and expert in power systems. He explained that data centers consume power on a gigawatt scale — 1,000 times larger than typical household consumption.

“In 2023, in the U.S., about 4.4% of the total load consumption was from data centers,” Chaudhuri said. “In 2028, some projections put that at around 12%.”

A study by Texas A&M University’s Urban Resilience AI Lab, released in August, identified the Susquehanna Valley as a high-risk area for power outages during extreme weather. Chaudhuri noted the overlap between vulnerable regions and data center growth.

“It so happens that in these hot spots where we have high vulnerability index, we are also seeing data center growth,” he said. “There has to be a structured approach for mitigation of that risk.”

Advocates for data centers argue that these facilities are essential to modern life.

“Data centers are everything we do every day, right? It is our electronic health care records. It’s our banking transactions. It’s online shopping. It’s online learning. How we work. It’s how we learn. It’s how we communicate,” said Dan Diorio, Vice President of State Policy for the Data Center Coalition.

Diorio also highlighted the role of data center operators in improving infrastructure, adding that companies that build data centers pay for large portions of transmission lines, substations, and ways to build the power grid.

Diorio proposed co-location solutions, such as Microsoft at Three Mile Island, where a private company can utilize an asset on the grid without directly impacting the utility grid.

“Now you have an asset on the grid that was basically sitting out there where, you know, a private company can come in and do the offtake there and then not be, you know, directly on the utility grid,” Diorio said.

During the interview with Chaudhuri, he mentioned Three Mile Island’s potential restart and how there’s uncertainties during severe weather events or other unexpected needs on the power grid that would force a data center to temporarily shut down operations.

“That’s what this conversation is about. You know, that surplus of power will be immediately rerouted to serve loads elsewhere,” Chaudhuri said. “So, you cannot say that immediately it will make this system unstable or this generator unstable. This has to be studied very carefully.”

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives recently proposed the “Data Center Act,” which could introduce regulations for data centers. The bill could place regulations on data centers.

However, advocates, like Diorio, advised that the uncertainty of a “one-size-fits-all” solution could hamper growth in Pennsylvania, and cautioned legislators. Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler, D-184, Majority Chair of the House Energy Committee, told WGAL News 8 after a committee hearing in October that details in the original proposal for the Data Center Act could be changed.

As legislators, researchers, and advocates continue discussions, the challenge remains to balance the economic benefits of data centers with the need for sustainable resource management.