East Vincent Township Advances Data Center Development at Pennhurst After Scrapping Regulatory Ordinance

East Vincent Township's board of supervisors has decided not to proceed with a draft ordinance that would have regulated data center development, allowing a proposed data center at the Pennhurst State School site to move forward. The application for the data center, covering over 1.3 million square feet and featuring multiple buildings and a solar field, will be reviewed by the planning commission before a conditional use hearing scheduled for March.

The site is currently owned by Pennhurst Holdings LLC, which aims to develop it despite community opposition regarding noise, pollution, and resource concerns. Pennsylvania's government supports data center growth, as evidenced by Amazon's recent $20 billion investment in the state. Meanwhile, a second data center project is under consideration in Campbell County, Virginia, with plans for multiple buildings and existing infrastructure to support it.