ARCHBALD — A proposal to build a 400-megawatt natural gas power plant on Eynon Jermyn Road faced significant scrutiny Monday night.
Representatives for Essential Energy LLC — a firm tied to local data center developer Jim Marzolino — appeared before Archbald Borough Council seeking approval to develop a natural gas power plant across a 15-acre parcel on Eynon Jermyn Road. The site is adjacent to Archbald’s Staback Park on land that was formerly part of the Highway Auto Parts junkyard. Across the street, Marzolino plans to build a nearly 620,000-square-foot data center known as Project Boson on the main Highway Auto Parts property. A consultant for the power plant said Monday it was not designed to serve Project Boson. Three limited liability companies affiliated with Kriger Constructions Inc. — whose president is Marzolino — also filed zoning applications in Dickson City last month to build at least three power plants along Bell Mountain above Business Route 6 in Dickson City.
Monday represented the first hearing for a recently restructured borough council following the resignations of three members April 15. All six members of council, which is working to fill its vacant seventh seat, were in attendance, including newly appointed members Madonna Munley, Lisa Osborne and Larry West.
Archbald Borough Council Member Madonna Munley reviews materials during the public hearing on the proposed 400-megawatt Essential Energy LLC power plant at Valley View High School in Archbald on Monday, April 27, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Archbald Borough Councilmember Larry West asks questions about the proposed 400-megawatt Essential Energy LLC power plant during the public hearing at Valley View High School in Archbald on Monday, April 27, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Lackawanna County Commissioner Bill Gaughan listen in on the public hearing on the proposed 400-megawatt Essential Energy LLC power plant at Valley View High School in Archbald on Monday, April 27, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Archbald borough council members Madonna Munley, Larry West, and Lisa Osborne listen to the presentation regarding the proposed 400-megawatt Essential Energy LLC power plant during the public hearing at Valley View High School in Archbald on Monday, April 27, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Stop Archbald Data Centers Co-founder Tamara Misewicz-Healey asks questions about the proposed 400-megawatt Essential Energy LLC power plant during the public hearing at Valley View High School in Archbald on Monday, April 27, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Attorney Justin Richards, representing Archbald borough residents, asks questions about the proposed 400-megawatt Essential Energy LLC power plant during the public hearing at Valley View High School in Archbald on Monday, April 27, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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Archbald Borough Council Member Madonna Munley reviews materials during the public hearing on the proposed 400-megawatt Essential Energy LLC power plant at Valley View High School in Archbald on Monday, April 27, 2026. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
About 300 residents filled the Valley View High School auditorium for the meeting. Many who oppose data centers wore bright yellow T-shirts and carried matching yellow signs.
Attorney Michael Mey of Dunmore-based Mey & Sulla represented Essential Energy, guiding testimony from subject matter witness Jennifer Leonard, a senior program manager at KCI Technologies in Mechanicsburg, as well as project consultant Randall Holmes, who cited 35-plus years of experience in the power generation industry.
The power plant would consist of two turbines, each contained in 40,000-plus-square-foot facilities, a nearly 38,000-square-foot control building, an underground containment facility for contaminated water, exhaust stacks, stormwater facilities and related infrastructure.
During their presentations, Leonard provided an overview of the site plan, while Holmes emphasized the need for a power plant amid projected electricity deficits spanning the 13-state regional transmission organization encompassing Pennsylvania known as PJM.
The power plant representatives spent much of the 3.5-hour hearing embroiled in cross examination, facing scrutiny from council members, Stop Archbald Data Centers co-founder Tamara Misewicz-Healey and Attorney Justin Richards, who is representing residents opposing data centers. Questions frequently referenced a lack of information and studies provided to the borough, including a lack of an environmental impact study that officials for the power plant said was underway.
Representatives did not provide emissions projections for the power plant, despite being asked multiple times.
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