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Some Conshocken-area residents are fighting back against a developer’s proposal to build a 2 million-square-foot data center one mile from the borough’s vibrant downtown area.

The facility would span 10 existing buildings at the recently closed Cleveland-Cliffs steel mill, which sits on 66 acres of land along the Schuylkill River.

Real estate mogul Brian O’Neill, who is steering the proposal, estimates the data center would generate $21 million a year in tax revenue. It’s not clear who would operate the facility, which O’Neill said would attract businesses to the area.

Earlier this month, Plymouth Township’s planning board unanimously refused to recommend the proposal to build the data center, which residents say could harm the environment and jack up energy bills. With the township’s zoning board scheduled to consider the proposal Nov. 17, some residents are gearing up with a petition that currently has more than 370 signatures.

“The Cleveland Cliff Steel Mill [has] been a huge part of our neighborhood and Conshohocken for many years, and it was sprung upon everyone very quickly that a developer was interested in a data center,” said Patti Smith, who started the petition and lives across the street from the site.

“We wanted to raise awareness, make sure that people were able to advocate for themselves because we don’t think that the local municipalities are ready to have these conversations and draft ordinances and regulations that can protect the residents.”

The demand for data centers

Data centers house the computer servers required to run internet services worldwide.

While they have been around since the mid-20th century, the acceleration of power-hungry artificial intelligence has boosted demand for larger sites and more resources.

Data center proponents say the facilities are essential for enabling connectivity and innovation across business and industry, and claim they create hundreds of jobs and generate millions of dollars in tax revenue.

However, many residents and environmentalists say the potential rewards don’t outweigh the risks.  Data centers use a significant amount of energy and as AI requires more power at a faster rate than typical internet activities, data centers often strain the power grid, leading to increased electricity rates for consumers.

A 2024 Department of Energy report on U.S. data center energy use estimated that data center load growth tripled over the past decade, and would double or triple again by 2028.

Data centers also require substantial water consumption to cool servers that are at risk of overheating, as well as for offsite power generation and component manufacturing. By 2028, hyperscale data centers across the U.S. are expected to consume between 60 and 124 billion liters of water.

O’Neill did not respond to a request to answer questions about the proposed Conshohocken data center, which would generate its own energy rather than relying completely on the grid.

However, during a Plymouth Township hearing on the proposed data center, he said his goal is to “rethink the Plymouth Industrial District,” and “put 21st century industry in an industrial building that exists today.”