{"id":226595,"date":"2026-06-24T07:02:37","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T07:02:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/226595\/"},"modified":"2026-06-24T07:02:37","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T07:02:37","slug":"chris-kelly-opinion-sound-and-fury-in-archbald","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/226595\/","title":{"rendered":"Chris Kelly Opinion: Sound and Fury in Archbald"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cIt is a tale, told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. \u2013 from \u201cMacbeth,\u201d by William Shakespeare<\/p>\n

\u201cAttenuation\u201d is one of many technical terms with which I\u2019ve become grudgingly familiar over untold hours of \u201cexpert\u201d testimony coughed up by a parade of paid apologists for the data center invasion.<\/p>\n

In the science of acoustics, attenuation describes \u201cthe muffling or dampening of sound waves as they travel through air or physical barriers.\u201d Distance, trees, topography and structures serve as buffers that \u201cattenuate\u201d sound, theoretically softening the impacts of harmful noise. Attenuation is the opposite of amplification.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A \u201cNo Power Generation Facilities\u201d 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)\n<\/p>\n

\"Area<\/p>\n

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)\n<\/p>\n

\"James<\/p>\n

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)\n<\/p>\n

\"Archbald<\/p>\n

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)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 4<\/p>\n

A \u201cNo Power Generation Facilities\u201d 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)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u2019s Archbald Borough Council hearing on Essential Energy LLC\u2019s proposed 400-megawatt power plant next to Staback Park in Archbald.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s most peaceful public spaces.<\/p>\n

Acoustical engineer James D. Barnes presented a seven-page \u201cpreliminary sound study\u201d that despite its airy contents landed with a thunderous thud. Council and residents who regularly attend these hearings are grudgingly familiar with \u201cexpert\u201d testimony that offers scant detail and abundant insults to their intelligence, but Barnes\u2019 testimony plumbed exciting new depths of futility.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is insulting,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

Barnes\u2019 report, which he described as a \u201cpaper study,\u201d used computer modeling to show that the proposed power plant \u201ccould\u201d meet borough zoning noise regulations. The \u201cstudy\u201d 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 \u201cstudy\u201d also didn\u2019t include on-site measurements of ambient sound.<\/p>\n

Barnes didn\u2019t consult with the borough\u2019s acoustical consultant, which he said he might have done had he known the borough hired one. Due to its threadbare methodology, Barnes\u2019 seven-page \u201cpaper study\u201d isn\u2019t worth the paper it\u2019s printed on. It was literally a sound study that signified nothing.<\/p>\n

Barnes didn\u2019t seem to grasp why that was such a big deal.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow much detail do you really need at this stage of the project?\u201d he asked. (Cue sad trombone.)<\/p>\n

I couldn\u2019t believe my own ears. I turned to Times-Tribune Staff Writer\u00a0 Frank Wilkes Lesnefsky and asked, \u201cDid he really just say that?<\/p>\n

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 \u201csubjective.\u201d Some people are bothered by it. Others aren\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Asked by Council Vice President Joe Altier III if he believes there are \u201cpeople that like the sound of a gas co-gen plant at night,\u201d Barnes responded, \u201cI can imagine somebody, not to be flip or anything, but the plant operator?\u201d<\/p>\n

The crowd heard that as \u201cflip,\u201d because it was. It was clear Barnes did not expect his \u201cpreliminary sound study\u201d to trigger fury in the crowd and council. His face was so red, I considered dialing 911.<\/p>\n

As the \u201cexpert\u201d testimony reaches dizzying new lows at each hearing, it\u2019s 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 \u201cnatural\u00a0 gaslighting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Call me a \u201cconspiracy theorist\u201d (it\u2019s new, but some do), but listening to Barnes\u2019 lazy, hazy testimony, it occurred to me that a \u201cflood the zone\u201d strategy may be in play \u2014 inundate and overwhelm officials and residents with decoy projects to distract from the ones backers truly hope will be approved.<\/p>\n

Sounds crazy, but consider that there are only three major manufacturers of gas turbines on the planet. The \u201cAI Boom\u201d has overwhelmed their production capacities to the extent that there\u2019s 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\u2019re supposed to believe that an Archbald-based developer has the money and influence to outspend and outmuscle international competition?<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s no sane reason to believe Marzolino can secure a single turbine anytime soon.<\/p>\n

If he can\u2019t count on getting the parts for his power plant, it\u2019s no wonder Marzolino\u2019s hired \u201cexperts\u201d offer testimony so speculative and sketchy that no sane council could responsibly approve the project.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany of them are, say, located near lab facilities, so the bigger issue is really with the lab rats and other things,\u201d he said. \u201cThey don\u2019t want to hear things, they don\u2019t want to be vibrating at all\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Councilwoman Osborne vibrated with indignation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I hope our residents aren\u2019t lab rats,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Depends on what side of the stage you\u2019re on.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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