Philadelphia officials have identified two potential sites for data center construction: one in Northeast Philadelphia and another in the Grays Ferry neighborhood in Southwest Philadelphia. No formal proposals have been made, but the possibility has prompted local opposition.
On Monday, more than 100 people attended a kick-off rally at Philadelphia's City Hall for the No Data Centers in Philly campaign. The group is calling for a data center moratorium in the city.
Grays Ferry residents have particular concerns. The neighborhood was previously home to what was then the East Coast's largest oil refinery, which shut down after an explosion in 2019. Shawmar Pitts, a lifelong resident and managing co-director of the environmental justice group Philly Thrive, said he grew up next to the refinery and only later connected his community's health problems to it.
"We don't want data centers," said Philly Thrive board president Sonya Sanders at the rally. "We don't want the pollution, we don't want the noise, and we know they're not going to bring us more jobs."
The opposition in Philadelphia reflects a broader national debate. Residents across the United States have pushed back against new data center construction, particularly in cities and towns with limited resources. In New York, Governor Kathy Hochul signed an executive order temporarily preventing the state from approving new permits for large projects. Data center moratoriums have also been approved in Denver, Indianapolis, Asheville, Charlotte, and Reno.
Environmental concerns centre on energy use and pollution. BloombergNEF predicts that by 2035, U.S. data centers will consume more natural gas than Germany and Japan combined, almost double its projection from nine months ago. Burning natural gas releases carbon dioxide, and additional data center demand is expected to generate an extra 1 million metric tons of greenhouse gas pollution each day, about 12% of all present-day U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.