The key facts

  • NorthPoint Development promises $10,000 to each of 4,500 families and a $165 million fund for the township
  • Residents secured a court-ordered halt to construction and a municipal moratorium
  • According to Data Center Watch, at least 75 data center projects were blocked or delayed in the first three months of 2026

An offer residents call a bribe

Ed Negra, a retiree from the gated community of Eagle Rock Resort in Hazle Township in eastern Pennsylvania, received four letters from the developer promising a $10,000 check to every family after the data center goes live. 'I call it a bribe,' he told AFP. The letters also describe a $165 million fund for the township and its residents: for a new police station, lower garbage collection fees, and more. Of that, $45 million is to be distributed directly among 4,500 households after the first building of the complex is completed.

Conflict over the project

In late 2024, residents heard the sound of chainsaws and learned that more than 1,200 acres (500 hectares) of land near the resort were being cleared for a server complex. Outraged by the lack of warning and worried about noise and pollution, they organized resistance and secured a court-ordered halt to construction and a municipal moratorium. Machinery on the cleared site sits idle, the logs have been hauled away, but NorthPoint Development has not abandoned the project: in letters to residents, the company claims that 'a lot of misinformation and fear' is circulating around data centers and its project. Neither the developer nor the township authorities responded to AFP's requests for comment.

A broader context of resistance

The conflict in Pennsylvania reflects a wave of protests across the country: according to Data Center Watch, which tracks resistance to the industry, local opposition blocked or delayed at least 75 data center projects in the first three months of 2026. Polls show that hostility to such projects crosses party lines, even though Republican President Donald Trump actively supports them in the name of US dominance in artificial intelligence and criticizes opponents. The issue has become salient ahead of the November 3 midterm elections.

Neighboring township and the power line

Across the valley, in rural Sugarloaf Township, residents are fighting a high-voltage power line that is likely intended to supply the data center. They are not eligible for the promised $10,000 check. Annie Vigneri, who has been fighting the project for nearly two years, said: 'No amount of money can replace or take away the beauty and tranquility we live in,' and compared the struggle to David versus Goliath. The land of Erica Cook, who works remotely for an insurance company, has become the subject of an eminent domain proceeding for a massive transmission tower. Cook notes that the protests 'bring people together across party lines' in a region where Republicans dominate elections.

A split among residents

Opinions in the former mining town, where, according to official figures, one in six residents lives below the poverty line, are divided. Jeff Fasnacht, a retiree and former middle school teacher living in the gated community, admits: 'For a young couple struggling to make ends meet... $10,000 is a lot of money.' However, he, like Negra, considers the offer a bribe and 'a drop in the bucket' compared to the potential loss of home value if the project goes ahead. 'This was supposed to remain untouched forest forever,' he sighs.