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With the boom in artificial intelligence in the global economy, creating the data centers to support that rapid growth has been in the national conversation, along with the growing protests over the negative effects it will bring.
Those tensions showed up in Philadelphia this week, prompting some response from City Hall.
Here’s what you should know:
What are data centers?
Data centers are facilities that securely store and maintain the powerful computer servers that technology companies need to store data, run software and keep digital applications and services like cloud storage and the online programs we use everyday on our phones and computers.
They can vary greatly in size, from a closet to a “hyperscale” facility that’s over 60,000 square feet and houses thousands of servers.
With the growth of cloud service in the 2010s and artificial intelligence today, the demand for hyperscale data centers has also increased.
These can bring a big economic boost to the places that host them, but also put a significant strain on the energy grid and costs, water supply and the environment around them.
Are there data centers in Philly?
Yes, Philly has had data centers for years, but not the hyperscale ones that are causing the biggest stir.
There have been proposals and permits for data centers in Philly’s collar counties, New Jersey and Delaware, but, as of now, there are no hyperscale data centers in Philadelphia.
Philly city officials have said that there are two sites in Philadelphia that could potentially host something of that scale: a city-owned site by Northeast Philadelphia Airport and at the former PES refinery site, in the Bellwether District.
There haven’t been proposals for either site, city officials say. That said, Philadelphia doesn’t have local zoning laws or regulations in place governing data center development yet.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro signed an executive order in August that set up stricter guardrails for data center development, but stopped short of a moratorium on new data centers.
What happened this week?
On Monday, around 100 protesters gathered outside City Hall, demanding that Mayor Cherelle Parker and City Council place a moratorium on data centers in the city.
This echoes the wider public sentiment surrounding data centers. A survey carried out by the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Policy Center from June to July found that 61% of U.S. adults opposed the construction of new data centers around them, which was a 12% increase from the center’s survey in February and March. Two-thirds of respondents in both surveys also felt that the government has done too little to regulate AI.
As of Thursday afternoon, an Action Network petition asking City Council to put a pause on new data centers in the city reached over 2,600 signatures.
On Wednesday, Parker signed an executive order creating a new Philadelphia Data Center Task Force, which will explore the potential pros and cons of hyperscale data centers and come up with a report of findings and recommendations by June 30, 2027.
The executive order is not a moratorium on new data centers, though.
“This does not mean that a hyperscale data center is being built now,” Parker said in her announcement video. “However, if a firm were to apply to the city of Philadelphia to build one of these hyperscale data centers, we want to make sure that we are fully prepared to know what the impact on Philadelphians would be. We want the appropriate guardrails in place so that we do everything possible to protect our city.”
City Council President Kenyatta Johnson has not committed to a moratorium either. His spokesperson said in a statement to WHYY that City Council members “continue discussions on the future of data centers in the city.”
