(The Center Square) – Yard signs reading “NO DATA CENTERS ON OUR FARMS” are spreading across Pennsylvania’s Slate Belt region as residents mobilize against a proposed project in Northampton County.
Data centers are now drawing the same scrutiny that warehouses once did, and although developers promise economic benefits, residents are questioning local impact. Increasingly, proposals are surfacing in rural communities where concerns over farmland, water use, power demand, and the industrialization of the landscape are fueling opposition.
Community opposition is being organized by the group No Data Center in the LMBT, which uses a Facebook page and a website to post updates.
Last week, developers behind a proposed 1.2 GW data center in Lower Mount Bethel Township held a three-hour town hall to address community concerns and gather feedback. The residents’ message was loud and clear: they want to preserve the area’s rural, agricultural, and river-based character – and they don’t want a data center.
John Callahan, director of business development for Peron Development, and Peter Polt of J.G. Petrucci led the presentation, joined by experts on power, siting, infrastructure, and environmental issues.
Talen Energy’s Dale Lipsak, and PPL Electric Utilities’ Joseph Lookup discussed power supply, transmission, interconnection, and responsibility for grid upgrades, while data center siting specialist Jake Terkanian outlined the proposed layout and land use.
Other project experts addressed stormwater, cooling systems, lighting, noise, permitting, and oversight by agencies including the state Department of Environmental Protection and the Delaware River Basin Commission.
The proposed Lower Mount Bethel Tech Center would be built on a 450-acre parcel at Gravel Hill Road and Martins Creek Belvidere Highway, with part of the site requiring rezoning from agricultural to industrial.
Developers say the site’s proximity to Talen Energy’s Martins Creek Power Plant makes it well positioned for the project and emphasized the potential benefits including millions in tax revenue, hundreds of jobs, and community investment. Residents, however, raised concerns about water use, noise, light pollution, wildlife, and broader environmental impacts, while some also questioned the need for AI-driven data centers at all.
Questions were also raised on whether the promised benefits justified the tradeoffs, with several residents saying they would rather pay higher taxes than see a data center built on farmland.
Rodney Smith, whose property borders the proposed site, said he has only lived on his preserved farmland for four years, and he loves looking out his back door and seeing wildlife. “I don’t want an industrial park 50 feet out my back window,” he said.
The crowd erupted in applause when Smith exclaimed, “You can’t tell me it’s not going to affect my value of property…we don’t need it. I’m willing to pay more taxes – I can afford to pay more to keep you out of here. I don’t want you.”
Beverly Van Hendron told The Center Square that she and her husband Jerry are also worried about what the project could mean for their property value.
The couple lives near the proposed site and were recently visited by Joseph Paranee of Bethlehem-based Paranee Properties. Van Hendron said he suggested they consider what they would want for their home because “these people” have a lot of money, and they should ask for double what it is worth. The conversation felt like an attempt to entice them to sell, she said.
They bought their circa-1840 home on four acres around 15 years ago. Now in their 80s, Van Hendron said, “We just want to finish our years out here.”
Nearby, Linda Horne lives on the 93-acre farm her great-grandfather purchased in 1864. Her family farmed the land for generations and now leases it to a local farmer. Although no one has approached her about selling, she said she worked hard to obtain farmland preservation status and is deeply concerned about the project’s potential impacts – such as noise and the environment – that would diminish her quality of life. “I’m afraid that it’s gonna kill me,” she told us. “It will literally break my heart.”
The project is still in the exploratory phase, but after being pressed for an answer at an earlier LMBT Board of Supervisors Meeting, two of five supervisors committed to voting no on the proposal.
During the town hall, John Callahan assured residents they have not, nor will they, ask township supervisors to sign non-disclosure agreements as is happening in other areas.
In an email statement to The Center Square, Callahan said they appreciated the opportunity to present their initial proposal and ideas at the public town hall and, most importantly, to hear directly from Lower Mount Bethel Township residents.
He said the proposal is at the beginning of the public process, not the end, and they look forward to working with township officials and residents to address concerns and establish clear, enforceable safeguards aligned with community priorities. He added that the project would also provide significant long-term benefits by bolstering township services, supporting local schools, and easing the tax burden on current property owners.
“We remain confident that the data center campus can be developed in a way that respects the character of the community through responsible site design and careful review. We will continue to listen and engage as this process moves forward, and we encourage residents to submit comments and questions through the project website: www.lmbtechcenter.com.”
Meanwhile, lawmakers in Pennsylvania are considering several pieces of data center-related legislation.
