Wayne County Data Center Proposal Faces More Questions Over Details, Regulation

A proposed data center in Clinton Township, Wayne County, is facing continued questions from local officials and residents as the township considers how — and whether — to regulate future projects.

The latest public hearing on the proposed development offered new details about the project, including plans for two natural-gas-fired power plants. But questions remain about who will ultimately use the facility and what the finished development will look like.

River Reporter editor Liam Mayo recently joined Wayne County leaders on a trip to Loudoun County, Virginia, known as “Data Center Alley,” to examine the region’s experience with the industry.

Loudoun County began actively pursuing data centers around 2006 and 2007. The county now has more than 250 data centers.

Mayo said the trip offered a more complicated picture than the idea that data centers are simply an economic success story. Local officials and industry representatives emphasized that communities should decide whether and how they want to accommodate the development.

“They were saying if you’re going to do this, you as a community should choose it,” Mayo said during an interview on Radio Chatskill.

That question is particularly relevant in Clinton Township, which does not have zoning. The township is considering an amendment to its Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance, or SALDO, that would establish additional requirements for future data center projects.

The proposed amendment would address issues including dimensional standards and require developers to provide impact analyses covering matters such as noise, lighting, expansion, intensification and changes in use.

But Mayo said a SALDO does not provide the same regulatory tools as zoning. That could become an issue if portions of the amendment are challenged in court.

The proposed Clinton Township data center is moving forward separately from the SALDO amendment.

At last week’s public hearing, officials and members of the public pressed developers for more information about the project. Mayo said plans currently call for two natural-gas-fired power plants, each generating roughly 1.3 to 1.4 gigawatts.

One plant is further along in the planning process, with tentative construction beginning around 2028 and completion in the second half of 2031.

But the project’s eventual end user has not yet been identified. Linde Corporation, the contractor, told officials it is in discussions with potential users but could not say who they are.

That means the plans currently under review are preliminary and could change once an end user is secured.

As Mayo explained, “the plans that are being reviewed right now are going to look different from the actual development that goes in the ground,” depending on what the eventual end user wants to do with the property.

That uncertainty was a recurring issue at the hearing. Mayo said members of the planning commission, township supervisors and members of the public were seeking more specific information before making decisions about a project that could represent roughly $6 billion in development.

“One of the big questions was: You’re asking us to make these big decisions, and when we’re asking you these specific questions, you’re saying just like, ‘I don’t know,’” Mayo said.

The next joint public hearing of the Clinton Township supervisors and planning commission is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 22, at 10 a.m. at the Wayne County Park Street Complex in Honesdale.

A planning commission meeting is also scheduled for Sept. 2. Mayo said the commission could be facing a decision deadline at the end of September unless that deadline is extended.

Image: A data center sign sits by the side of the road in Clinton Township, PA. (Liam Mayo)