On July 15, President Donald Trump sat down at Carnegie Mellon University with leaders in technology and energy innovation to discuss their plans for the development of business and infrastructure related to artificial intelligence. Alongside him was Micheal Intrator, CEO of CoreWeave, a company providing AI data cloud storage and training to some of the biggest clients of today’s AI market, including OpenAI, Microsoft and Meta. What may have seemed at first like just a conversation for the “big players” in the AI market has caused a buzz of construction, planning and even a contentious legal battle right here in Lancaster.
CoreWeave has invested $6 billion to build two AI data centers in Lancaster. With $10 million from Wholsen Construction Company, plans have been set into motion for the construction of facilities at 216 Greenfield Road and Harrisburg Pike. This deal marks the largest business investment that Lancaster has ever seen.
As outlined by the City of Lancaster FAQs on the data centers, the construction is to take place in two phases. Phase one will renovate the existing structure at Greenfield Road, which previously functioned as a printing facility and is expected to be completed in the summer of 2027. Phase two has proven to be a point of contention, however, because it extends beyond the existing framework of the building, and will therefore require an approval for land development granted by the Lancaster City Planning Commission.
This application is currently being reviewed, but there has been a major holdup as Lancaster City officials and concerned citizens have worked to determine new zoning ordinance amendments that protect residents from the environmental, financial and legal threats of living near a data center.
Currently, the Lancaster City Council’s zoning ordinance classifies the data centers as “wholesale trade and storage”. This classification is a more general and industrial term that allows for planning and construction to take place without formal supervision or public vote. Many citizens, including Frank Arcelo, have protested this classification and are advocating for more restrictive and specific regulations.
Arcelo filed an appeal against the city’s current zoning ordinance and argued that there should be a new and separate zoning classification for data centers with regulations that protect the interest of Lancaster residents.
Arcelo argues that there should be a new and separate zoning classification for data centers with regulations that protect the interest of Lancaster residents.
“That process will indeed put guardrails on the data center to make sure they supply their own electricity so that our electricity bills don’t go up, to make sure they manage the noise and the heat and the potential diesel pollution in a way that doesn’t affect the neighbors and in fact, the entire area, the entire region,” Arcelo told WGAL8.
In response, however, the developers of the data center, including Chirisa Technology Parks and Wholsen Construction, have filed a lawsuit against Arcelo in order to block his appeal and continue with the construction process.
The major concern with this legal deadlock is that phase two of the construction process could be approved before the new amendments are set into effect. This would mean that the concerns addressed by Arcelo and many other residents, and the regulations decided by the city council would have no bearing on these first data centers.
While a public hearing regarding the new rules and regulations is set to be held later this month or in December, it is currently unclear whether or not these amendments will apply to the data centers on Greenfield Road and Harrisburg Pike. If construction is approved and these data centers do not have to comply with the proposed legislation changes, the well being and financial security of Lancaster residents could be compromised.
So what exactly are Lancaster residents worried about? The main concerns surrounding the data centers are focused on ensuring that the environmental impacts of the centers are minimized and that people living near the facilities do not experience an increase in their electricity bills and are not disrupted by increased noise and activity levels.
As far as water usage is concerned, the project developers have decided to use an air-cooling system to cool their machines instead of the water cooling systems that have depleted thousands of gallons of water at other facilities globally. This will be an 80% decrease from the amount of water needed to supply the building’s previous function as a printing plant. Additionally, Chirisa Technology Parks detailed in a statement that water from Lancaster’s municipal services will not be used in the cooling systems.
One of the biggest issues that residents are awaiting solid answers on, however, is the impact the data center will have on electricity cost and reliability. With a recent Bloomsburg New analysis showing that areas near large AI data centers experienced a 267% increase in the cost of electricity, Lancaster residents are anxious to ensure that they don’t experience similar cost hikes.
The City of Lancaster FAQ on the AI data centers provided information explaining that the Chirisa Technology Park and other developers will be responsible for paying for the upgrades and expansions in the PPL power grids needed to supply energy to the data centers. It is not clear, however, what impact these expansions will have on the bills paid by those living near the data centers.
The noise generated by the facilities’ cooling fans and diesel-powered backup generators is another area of concern. Additionally, skepticism about the promises made by the developers of the data centers on this topic is prevalent among Lancaster residents. The developers stated that the noise emission would be neutral, but these claims have not been confirmed by Lancaster City, who is employing an independent expert to verify the study’s findings. More importantly, Lancaster’s current noise ordinance does not regulate industrial noise. This ordinance has left many uneasy about the disturbance that could be created by the facilities.
As the developers are suing Arcelo in order to delay the approval of the more restrictive zoning regulations that have been proposed, it feels as if corners are being cut and the demands of Lancaster residents are being evaded. The introduction of this business and infrastructure that is foreign to Lancaster and relatively novel to the rest of the world should be treated with caution, time and most importantly, public consideration.
There are positive aspects to this project, including investment into Lancaster’s economy and the employment of a maximum of 150 full time employees. These benefits, however, need to be weighed with the current concerns of the disruption of noise and traffic, environmental concerns and the lack of transparency in deciding zoning regulations that could leave many citizens in the dark about what effect these data centers will have on their lives.
In all, AI infrastructure is not going anywhere. These data centers are not the first, and will not be the last facilities constructed in Pennsylvania. As the city and residents of Lancaster tread this new ground, it is important to prioritize the safety, comfort and affordability of the residents living nearby.
Now is not the time to jam building permits through city council and evade the new regulations that council members are drafting to protect Lancaster residents. The concerns of people like Arcelo should be addressed rather than blocked in large-scale lawsuits. Additionally, the developers of these projects should take into consideration the fears and demands the community members have, and weigh public interest over efficiency and immediate profit.
