Archbald is a little corner of northeastern Pennsylvania where coal used to be the big business. These days, there’s a different kind of boom in the air—data centers, lots of them. In a community of about 7,000 people, a half-dozen proposals have been floated, and the debate has gotten personal, fast.
Kayleigh Cornell is a teacher, and Sarah Gabriel is an ICU nurse. Together, they run a neighborhood association—and both say they’re alarmed not just about the environmental footprint, but also what new power demands could do to electric bills and the town’s look and feel. Gabriel put it plainly, even a little fiercely: “It’s gonna just completely change the landscape. Anywhere there’s trees, there’s probably not going to be any any longer.” When she said it, you could almost picture the change—quiet streets, then the hum of something big that never really sleeps.
Cornell isn’t pretending she has a neat, tidy plan. But she said she and others are determined. “We’ll stop it if we could help it.” And that drive has upended local politics in a way that’s hard to miss. At a March 10 borough meeting at Valley View High School, residents packed in with signs reading “No data centers,” and some took it further—yelling at representatives of proposed projects to “get out of here.” One woman shouted, “We made up our minds: go home!” The scene wasn’t welcoming. It was… done.
The pressure is coming from the demand side too. Tech companies say they need these massive facilities—full of computing power—to fuel the AI revolution, and developers are racing to build in places they view as practical: areas rich in land, water, and power. There’s also the economic argument, and it’s messy. Communities want jobs and tax revenue, sure, but many are also on edge about utility bills rising and whether the promises will actually show up the way they’re sold.
In Archbald, one application for a campus of 18 data centers has hit a roadblock. Gabriel insists she isn’t fighting AI itself. She said, “We’re not against AI data centers. But because the industry is so new and unregulated, it is concerning that if we just keep moving forward, we’re gonna get to, like, a point of no return.” That “unregulated” worry is the fulcrum for a lot of the resistance—especially in places where residents feel like decisions are being made faster than safeguards can catch up.
Elsewhere, the industry is already normalizing itself. Misryoum newsroom reported that there are more than 4,000 data centers in the U.S. (and counting). In Loudoun County, Virginia—often nicknamed “Data Center Alley”—anonymous, sci-fi-looking buildings seem to be everywhere, including one that’s slightly more than one-million square feet, big enough to park two aircraft carriers. Andy Power, president and CEO of Digital Realty—who owns and operates hundreds of data centers globally—described the sector as a multi-hundred-billion-dollar industry. He said it represents breakthroughs that can “essentially improve quality of life.” When pressed about community pushback, Power said he understands the concerns and argued that the infrastructure will help “change the world you’re living in today and for years to come.”
Washington, meanwhile, is where the fight over rules is getting louder. Misryoum editorial desk noted fierce critics are calling for a moratorium on data center construction until tougher AI regulations are enacted by Congress. Last month, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, an Independent, and New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Data Center Moratorium Act. Sanders said he fears Congress is unprepared for “the magnitude of the changes that are already taking
place.” President Trump and many Republicans, by contrast, argue data centers are vital for the future economy. Senator Dave McCormick, a Pennsylvania Republican, has pushed to bring investments to his home state and called American leadership in AI “the most important question facing our country.” He said he thinks the net benefit for Pennsylvania is enormous—and added that companies need to work with communities rather than against them, describing a “covenant” for job creation, environmental
protection, water safeguards, and energy cost protections.
Back in Archbald, though, the conversation keeps circling back to the same knot: what happens if this continues, and whether residents get real leverage before it becomes permanent. Cornell said people live there because of quality of life. “Yes, obviously you need jobs,” she said, “But, again, this would be intrinsically changing the character of Archbald Borough.” Asked whether they have a fighting chance, Gabriel replied, “Yeah, absolutely.” Cornell followed with a blunt promise: “We have no other alternative. I mean, it’s our home. We have to fight.” And somewhere outside the meeting rooms, the proposals keep moving forward—whether the community is ready or not.
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