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According to the Pew Research Center, about 1,500 data centers are in various stages of development nationwide.
It's an issue hitting Pennsylvania hard.
There are more than 3,000 data centers already operating nationwide. That makes the ones being built about a 50% increase.
In Pennsylvania, the increase is more stark. According to Spotlight PA, there are 52 data centers in the state already, while 53 are proposed.
There isn't widespread support. Some communities where the centers are planned are seeing residents protest. One Emerson College poll showed 42% of respondents oppose having data centers in or near their community, and about 70% have concerns about energy and water impact.
Politicians are becoming less enthusiastic as public opinion changes. Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat who once welcomed data center investment, imposed strict conditions on new projects in August. His Republican gubernatorial opponent, Treasurer Stacy Garrity, has called for an indefinite pause on major data center development.
When we think of traffic, we generally think about the trucks coming and going from the facilities.
But the impact of the data center boom already is clogging local roadways.
Superloads of heavy equipment will be rolling through the area. About 50 shipments of loads up to 380 tons will travel routes 66 and 22 through areas such as Leechburg, North Apollo and Delmont. The equipment is bound for the data center and power plant project in Homer City.
This will have a definite impact on traffic. Some loads will go as slow as 3 mph in more populated areas like Gilpin -- barely the speed of a brisk walk.
This isn't just a day or two. This is something that will happen through January.
That means, before this one data center and its power plant are built, it will have a regular impact on multiple communities. It will delay traffic. It will affect when people get to work and when they pick up their kids from daycare. What will that do to school bus routes, to other construction projects, to businesses?
This isn't a reason to spike all the projects on the table.
It is a reason to expand thinking about the way data centers interact with the communities. It is bigger than just the city limits.
A data center might occupy one piece of property in one municipality. But its demand for energy and water, the infrastructure it requires and the traffic it creates can extend far beyond those boundaries.
Those impacts should be addressed before projects are approved. The communities carrying the burden should be part of the conversation, even if the development is not within their borders.
Pennsylvania might be poised to more than double its number of data centers. The benefits cannot stop at the property line while the burdens roll down the road to everyone else.