FAQs

A data center is a building full of computers. These computers store, process, and move digital information for websites, apps, cloud services, streaming, and AI. When people send emails, watch videos, use phones, or search online, data centers are often handling that traffic behind the scenes. Because the computers run all day and all night, data centers use a lot of electricity and need systems to keep them from overheating.

Artificial intelligence is driving a huge amount of new demand. AI tools need massive computing power, so companies are building much larger facilities to support that growth. Large corporations want faster service, more storage, and more computing capacity, so they are building new data centers quickly.

• Farmland is often open and easy to build on. Large data centers need big, flat parcels of land, and farmland can provide that space more easily than crowded city areas. Rural land is often attractive because it may be near utility infrastructure or have room to connect new power equipment.
• Compared to city or suburban property, farmland can be less expensive and easier to assemble into one large site.
• Many data center developers look for places where local ordinances are limited, outdated, or easier to work around. In places with limited county zoning authority, local officials may have very little power to delay or block a project once it is proposed.

• Extreme water usage: Data centers use water to cool the massive amounts of computers that they contain, along with some data centers using water in steam generators for their electrical needs. According to Farm Action, “large facilities [like hyperscale data centers] may use up to 5 million gallons per day.” A data center being built in Louisiana “is registered to consume more than 23 million gallons of water per day, or 8.4 billion gallons per year.” The Mifflin County Municipal Authority is only authorized to produce 6 million gallons of water per day, or about 2.2 billion gallons per year. On average, it produces about 2.8 million gallons per day, or about 1 billion gallons per year. Additionally, since rural areas tend to rely on wells and aquifers that are already heavily impacted by droughts and other weather variability, overuse of water can have a huge impact on communities.
• Extreme electricity usage: One data center consulting company says a hyperscale data center could use about 2,400 megawatt-hours of electricity per day, or the same amount used in a day as:
  • All of the residents of Erie County, PA.
  • All of the residents of Forest, Cameron, Sullivan, Potter, Montour, Fulton, Juniata, Wyoming, Warren, and Elk counties COMBINED. That’s ten counties!
  • Approximately 83,000 households in Pennsylvania. For reference, there are only 18,510 households in Mifflin County, so a data center of this size would use almost four times as much electricity as all of the households in the county combined.
• Noise and vibrations: Large data centers can create constant low frequency noise from cooling systems, generators, and large electrical equipment, which can effect nearby homes, farms, and rural recreation areas. Individuals who live near data centers have “reported sleep disruption, difficulty concentrating, and avoidance of outdoor spaces”. There’s often no break from this, either, since many hyperscale data centers run 24/7. Residents who live near the Atlas Power Data Center in North Dakota even sued the data center, claiming that it “tanked property values and hurt their quality of life”. The company settled with the residents, though the details of the settlement remain confidential.
• Loss of agricultural land: Hyperscale data center developers often target rural areas because of the availability of farmland. They need big, flat parcels of land, and farmland tends to be open and easy to build on. The problem is that once farmland is converted to industrial land, it is rarely ever converted back to agricultural land. Additionally, “once large-scale development enters an area, farmland starts being priced based on what developers might pay to build on it rather than what farmers can afford to pay to farm it. That drives up prices and makes it harder for farmers—especially beginning farmers—to access affordable land”.
• Secrecy and lack of transparency: Many proposals arrive under confidentiality agreements, limiting what local leaders and residents can review before decisions are made. At the same time, companies often pitch large tax revenue numbers, but those projections may be difficult for communities to verify until long after the deal is signed.

• Your electricity bill may increase. Citizens across the country are already facing increased electric bills due to the massive demand placed on the power grid by data centers.
  • “70% of last year’s increased electricity cost was the result of data center demand.”
  • For areas near significant data center activity, “electricity now costs as much as 267% more for a single month than it did five years ago.”
  • New Jersey residents are expected to see a 20% increase in electric bills.
  • The average monthly utility bill in Ohio has already climbed 13.9% since May 2025 (as of July 2026).
  • In Oregon, electric bills are up 50% over the past four years.
  • Data centers often require such significant upgrades to the power grid that “the initial shock of having to upgrade the infrastructure to fill the demand is spread among all the consumers,” increasing prices for everyone.
• Even the Mifflin County Planning and Development Department admits that “There is a possibility of increased utility bills due to the continuous electricity and water demands” from a hyperscale data center.
• Water restrictions have come along with some data centers due to the massive amount of water that they use. Residents in Fayette County, GA, were told to scale back their water usage despite the data center using more water than the peak limit agreed to during the planning process – and the 615 acre facility isn’t even fully operational yet.
• Temperatures may increase. The land surrounding data centers may increase by up to 16º F with temperature increases up to 6.2 miles away, according to a study done by faculty at the University of Cambridge.
• If your work is in agriculture, expect land to become more expensive. According to Farm Action, “once large-scale development enters an area, farmland starts being priced based on what developers might pay to build on it rather than what farmers can afford to pay to farm it. That drives up prices and makes it harder for farmers—especially beginning farmers—to access affordable land”.

An attorney! We’re largely fundraising to cover expenses for an attorney who will represent the interests of the residents of Granville Township, not one who works for Granville Township.

Bill Cluck, an environmental attorney with more than 36 years of experience. He’s fought data centers in other parts of the state (he’s successfully tied up one of them for almost four years!) and we’re excited to have him on board.

There are lots of ways to get involved! Check out our “Get Involved” page, sign up for our email newsletter, and follow us on Facebook to keep up to date with what’s going on. If you’re interested in donating towards our attorney’s fees, please see our “Donate” page for more information.