UPPER MACUNGIE TWP., Pa.- The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission (LVPC) found a lot of details to be lacking in a proposal to build a massive data center complex on the former Air Products headquarters site.

The project was the subject of a draft review that was discussed at a meeting of the commission’s comprehensive planning committee on Tuesday afternoon.

Air Products wants to construct three buildings on the 194-acre site at 7300 Cetronia Road in Upper Macungie Township. The buildings would total 2.6 million square feet. It would be the Lehigh Valley’s first hyperscale data center complex. 

But, LVPC planners said the proposal leaves too much to the imagination, including the project’s potential impact on the power grid, its water needs, and the type of cooling system it would use. “Due to the haste with which the plans were submitted, they did not include essential information that is expected with a hyperscale data center submission,” said Chief Community and Regional Planner Jill Seitz.

To better understand the campus’ full electrical demand, Air Products “should clarify the total projected electrical load at full build-out and demonstrate coordination with PPL to confirm that the existing grid can reliably accommodate this load without degrading service to current residential or commercial users,” planners wrote in their review.

The plans also do not identify locations where backup generators will be stored, the review said. 

In addition, planners noted that, while the buildings would be served by public sewer and water, the Lehigh County Authority (LCA) has not been approached to determine if capacity is available. “Given the region’s current drought conditions, it is critical that the applicant model water use under drought-stage or peak-stress scenarios and demonstrate long-term reliability of the proposed water supply,” the draft review reads.

Some members of the committee questioned whether the plans were intentionally submitted in a hurry, before Upper Macungie Township could solidify new rules specifically regulating data centers. The township did take action on a new zoning ordinance earlier this month, but, by then, the Air Products proposal was already on the table.

The application from Air Products had been scheduled for a review by the Upper Macungie Township Zoning Hearing Board later on Tuesday. December 16. That meeting- set to start at 6:30 p.m. at the municipal building at 8330 Schantz Road- was still on as of Tuesday afternoon, the township secretary told 69 News. 

Data Center Interior

Data Center Interior

By Prime Data Centers

‘Spaghetti on the wall’

“This is clearly a ‘spaghetti on the wall’ proposal here, just thrown together to beat the rules,” said LVPC Commissioner John Gallagher.

Several LVPC commissioners and members of the public spoke out against the project- and large-scale data centers in general- during the meeting on Tuesday. “If this is something we want in this region, I hope we think about it long and hard, because once we start, you can’t come back,” said LVPC Chairman Chris Amato, of hyperscale data centers.

Ultimately, the committee did vote to send the plans on to the full LVPC, which will meet on Thursday, December 18, at 11 a.m. at 615 Waterfront Drive in Allentown. The meeting can also be accessed virtually.

In addition to the Air Products data center proposal, Thursday’s agenda also includes reviews of a new Easton Area High School Athletic Complex in Palmer Township, Northampton County, as well as a new athletic field and auxiliary buildings for the Wilson Area School District in Northampton County.Â