From expanding alternative energy resources to addressing and regulating resource-heavy AI data farms before they starve communities, Tim Hayes wants to represent voters in Harrisburg.
Hayes, a Democrat and Dublin resident, is running against incumbent Republican Shelby Labs to represent Bucks County residents in Pennsylvania’s 143rd House District. The district includes: Dublin, Perkasie, Sellersville and Silverdale boroughs; and Bedminster, Hilltown, parts of New Britain, Plumstead and Tinicum townships. Labs was elected in 2020 and has won two terms since then.
Hayes said expanding Pennsylvania’s – and Bucks County’s – energy portfolio and investing in alternative resources, as well as addressing the prospective impact of AI data farms should be a top priority in Harrisburg.
“I would support implementing community energy programs and allowing the construction of community energy projects, such as community solar and agricultural waste plants and alternative energy fuel sources in rural areas,” Hayes explained.
He said advancing Gov. Josh Shapiro’s “Lightening Plan” to strengthen the commonwealth’s energy sources and infrastructure, create jobs and reduce skyrocketing costs for consumers should be a top priority of elected officials.
Among the challenges Americans across the nation and that Bucks County faces are the prospect of energy and water-hungry AI data center farms, notorious for their resource demands and consumption.
“To offset energy demands, I think it’s important to know how much energy is consumed by these centers,” he said.
A U.S. Environmental and Energy Study Institute report found data centers increasingly tap ground and drinking water sources, while large data centers can use upwards of five million gallons of water per day; equal to the service needs of population centers with as many as 50,000 residents.
Hayes said larger centers can consume as much as 100 megawatts of energy per day, or roughly the energy demands of a city like Allentown, in Lehigh County.
“With the AI data centers proposed, our [Pennsylvania’s] energy grid is not positioned to meet the demands,” he said.
Hayes supports the current House Bill 501 (2025/2026 session,) which is known as the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act.
He said finding ways to lower consumer energy costs, develop a more comprehensive energy resource menu of options and place the burden of energy use and water preservation on end users – such as those companies seeking to build and operate AI data centers – is crucial to Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and the nation’s welfare.
READ: Data Center Growth Drives Locals to Fight for More Say in States Like Pennsylvania
Hayes believes time remains to be intentional and proactive to avoid catastrophic issues resulting from a “do nothing” approach to AI data center expansion and maintaining the present energy resource “status quo.”
“If we start acting now, I think by the end of the decade we’d be in a manageable state; if we put regulations in place to require AI data centers to be self-sufficient and to make contributions to low income energy programs. There are a lot of different opportunities to manage it,” Hayes said.
While acknowledging Harrisburg may ultimately place the burden of resource and AI data farm construction and management on local governments and municipal officials, Hayes said state leaders needed to provide guidance and direction; if not rules and restrictions
“As an elected state representative, I’d make sure we’re holding them [big business] accountable; that they are not destroying our environment or burdening consumers,” he said.
Hayes is a long-time public servant. At 17, Hayes enlisted in the Pennsylvania National Guard. At 21, he was the youngest elected representative to Dublin Borough Council in the borough’s history.
In his current position at a non-profit environmental firm, Hayes believes he can make a daily difference in the lives of constituents, if elected.
According to a campaign announcement, Dublin Borough’s council “flipped blue” in 2023, when Hayes was elected as council president.“Together we’ve worked to make Dublin one of the leading economic hubs of Bucks County, with tens of millions of dollars in projected private sector investments by the end of the decade,” said Hayes.
Other Dublin achievements include first responder investments, improved sustainability in the borough, reduced spending and “bureaucracy” as well as infrastructure upgrades.
“I’m running to be the fighter the 143rd district deserves. I want to be on the House floor, day in and day out, to advocate for affordability, education, first responders, there are critical issues not being addressed right now,” Hayes said.
