Gilpin supervisors are getting ahead of the data center curve.
After months of work, supervisors unanimously approved clear regulations Tuesday night regarding data centers in the community.
“Personally, I definitely feel more comfortable with the fact we have reasonable guidelines if a data center were to come into place,” said Gilpin supervisor Charles Stull, who attended the supervisors’ meeting over the phone. Chairwoman Tina Thompson was absent.
The ordinance limits where a proposed data can be located and calls for other stipulations.
Location requirements include a setback of at least 200 feet from homes, parks, businesses and other sensitive uses; at least 100-foot landscaped buffer with trees and screening; and strict noise limits with sound studies required.
Another requirement is that vibration would not be felt beyond the data center’s property.
The ordinance also calls for environmental and infrastructure review. Any applicant must demonstrate adequate water supply without impacting nearby wells or streams, proper wastewater handling and sufficient electric grid capacity.
While no such data center proposals have been submitted, the ordinance put forth clear regulations in case one is.
The vote comes at a time when data centers are being planned or discussed in Upper Burrell, Springdale and South Strabane, and new power plants are being considered in Homer City and Shippingport, specifically to cater to data centers.
“I’m personally not advocating for or against, should a data center come (to Gilpin),” Stull said. “Any investment in the township is good.”
Armstrong County Commissioner Anthony Shea attended the meeting and spoke about a recent trip he took to Data Center Alley in Loudoun County, Va. Shea and commissioner Pat Fabian joined officials from 13 counties on the trip to learn more about data centers.
The Ashburn area of the county holds the world’s largest concentration of data centers, with around 200 facilities, according to a BBC report.
“We basically saw miles and miles of data centers,” Shea told TribLive.
He said some facilities fulfilled the rumors of being large, loud and ugly, while recently built ones were quiet and looked more aesthetically pleasing.
Shea compared data center operations to a shopping mall.
“A data center is a real estate endeavor,” he said. “When you go to the mall, there’s a building that rents space out to stores. That’s the same as a data center.”
According to a March industry report by the Pittsburgh Technology Council and the Philadelphia Alliance for Capital and Technologies, Pennsylvania is currently the fastest-growing data center market in the PJM grid, creating a self-reinforcing cycle of growth for in-state industry.
PJM is a regional transmission organization that coordinates wholesale electricity movement in 13 states and the District of Columbia.
The report, written by Mangum Economics, projected Pennsylvania will see data center capacity growth of more than 4,000% in the next decade.
Shea said the key at the local level is creating the right regulations so people are comfortable living in their community while avoiding overly restricting data centers to the point companies don’t want to make an investment in a community.
“I believe you can manage both,” Shea said. “You have to do your homework.”
The Chirisa Technology Parks site at RIDC Armstrong Innovation Park and Ark Data Center Pittsburgh, formerly Involta, are the two data centers in Armstrong County.
Shea said commissioners have received inquiries about the shuttered ATI Bagdad Plant and the Schenley Industrial Park. He said the interest was preliminary, and he did not tell TribLive if inquiries had anything to do with a potential data center.
Stull said that according to the new regulations, both sites meet location requirements for a hypothetical data center.
Shea said commissioners are starting to explore countywide regulations regarding data centers. How they would create those regulations or what they would be are unclear.
“We’re not that far along,” Shea said. “We’ve had general discussions. … I commend Gilpin for being ahead of the curve.”