PennFuture will host a community event webinar December 4 from 6–7 p.m. to unveil current efforts – and the potential impacts – of creating a new AI and data center infrastructure for Pennsylvania.
“Uncovering PA’s AI + Energy Strategy: The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly” will feature PennFuture President and CEO Patrick McDonnell, Penn Future Policy Manager for Sustainable Economics Donna Kohut, and Ohio Valley River Institute Senior Researcher Sean O’Leary. PennFuture is a member-driven public policy and legislative advocacy group with offices throughout Pennsylvania.
Register from the free virtual event here.
“Big Tech is promising big economic rewards through AI and data center development and the fracked gas industry is positioning itself to be the sole energy provider. Meanwhile, we are asking ourselves why cheap, clean, fast to deploy renewable [energy sources] are being left out of the conversation and what all this means for Pennsylvania workers and communities,” PennFuture stated in a press release.
The Bucks County Beacon previously reported on Amazon’s June announcement that it would invest $20 billion in Pennsylvania to construct AI-driven data center infrastructure expansions, including a center locally in Falls Township.
The environmental impacts of the proposed 1-million-square-foot Amazon Data Center slated to be built in Bucks County are expected to be significant. Across the country similar projects have caused a strain on local water resources, “accelerated carbon-dioxide emissions and consequential electricity consumption.”
While such massive projects tout employment gains in the communities in which they are located, in reality most employment gains are temporary construction jobs to build out the project while a fraction of full time jobs remain once such centers are completed.
PennFuture asserts that the 501c3 Team Pennsylvania Foundation is helping drive this new push for large-scale AI data centers fueled by fracked gas.
“Since its inception in 1997, Team PA has championed fossil fuels as the key to economic development and prosperity for the commonwealth,” PennFuture pointed out in its press release.
Team PA recently released its 2025 Pennsylvania Energy, Data Center and Artificial Intelligence Roadmap as their vision to shape the commonwealth’s economic future for the next 10 years.
Meanwhile, Pennsylvania currently ranks 49th in the nation for renewable energy growth.
