ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A member of President Trump’s Cabinet paid a visit to Northampton County on Thursday.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum toured Talen Energy’s power plant in Lower Mount Bethel Township.

Talen Energy is partnering with Slate Belt Holdings LLC, a group that is seeking to develop data centers in Lower and Upper Mount Bethel Townships.

One proposed data center could sit on 750 acres of land in Upper Mount Bethel Township, that could house up to 23 buildings.

In an exclusive interview, 69 News asked Secretary Burgum if Talen Energy officials spoke with Burgum about the proposal.

“We didn’t talk about that one. I’m hearing about specifically the 700 acres. We didn’t talk about that. We just talked generally about the benefits and how we have to address concerns at a local level,” Burgum said.

Secretary Burgum, a Republican who grew up on farmland in North Dakota, visited a Lehigh Valley power plant surrounded by cornfields, touting Al as a cornerstone to America’s future economy.

“America needs to be able to manufacture intelligence, and we have to work to find communities that support that, because the benefits outweigh the challenges,” said Burgum.

Upper and Lower Mount Bethel Townships currently have ordinances which prohibit data centers from being built. Talen and it’s partners are challenging them.

“I didn’t see any plans about any specific projects, but did talk broadly about the importance for America to be able to build the infrastructure it needs to manufacture intelligence,” Burgum said. “That’s really what’s happening in these data centers and I think it’s important that the industry and the local groups have to address citizens’ concerns.”

Secretary Burgum believes scaling up is necessary because the demand is so high.

“The general purpose technology of AI could be used by everybody, and the places that have that are gonna prosper,” Burgum said.

In a region wearing the scars of decades of warehouse development, many residents are gun-shy about data centers as “the next big thing.”

The Secretary believes they go hand in hand.

“The next generation of distribution warehousing is all going to require more electricity and more AI to make those warehouses more efficient,” said Burgum.