Everyone in a Pennsylvania town gets $10K if data center is built but theyre still pushing back: report

A big developer that’s desperate to build a data center near a Pennsylvania town has reportedly offered to pay every family there $10,000 – but most are still pushing back, part of a nationwide trend of opposition to such sites.While seeking approvals for a data center project in the Pocono foothills, Northpoint Development sent letters to the 10,460 residents of nearby Hazle Township this summer, offering to write a check to each household to spend on “whatever you want.”Totaling $45 million, the payouts would be a substantial boost for many residents of the town, where the average household income is $60,000.They could use it to cover six months of rent in a two-bedroom apartment or fund their groceries or gas for many months longer, according to the Wall Street Journal.But many of the Pennsylvanians are rejecting the payments, skeptical the developer is trying to bribe them into signing off on a data center that could cause noise and light pollution, or simply help the acceleration of AI, which they fear could eradicate broad swaths of jobs.Jeff Fasnacht, a retired teacher who lives near the planned location of the new data center, shared the same concern as many other residents around the country protesting data center buildouts – a new form of NIMBYism.“$10,000 doesn’t match how much it’s going to tank my property value,” Fasnacht told the Wall Street Journal, while enjoying a Scotch and a cigar after a round of golf.Ed Negra, a retired homeowner, added that the developer’s offer might end up backfiring since it could prompt residents to probe the potential downsides of the data center.“I think it works the opposite way, because most people have the opinion that, ‘Hey, are they trying to bribe us here?’” he was quoted as saying.Opposition to data centers has grown so strong that people would rather see a nuclear power plant built in their neighborhood than a data center, according to a Gallup poll in May.Developers have gone to new ...