PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Montgomery County residents have denounced a proposed data center in their community.
Before Monday night’s Conditional Use hearing, dozens of activists demonstrated against the construction of a data center between Philadelphia Premium Outlets and the Limerick Clean Energy Center.
Tara Yerger said MCD7’s proposed facility on the 191 acres of land brings potential pollution risks, higher energy bills and lower property values.
“The data center is not for the community. That is for people who are building it to get richer. It’s not for us; it doesn’t benefit us at all,” she said.
Throughout the night, there were many technical questions about data center operations, sound and noise, and electrical specifications that MCD7’s counsel said other expert witnesses would answer. That lawyer was not available for comment, and Limerick Township’s Board of Supervisors is not able to speak about an ongoing hearing.
Linfield resident Brian Lesyk was concerned not just about how nearby homes and ecosystems may be affected, but also about what the data center would be used for:
“Nobody’s sitting here like, ‘yeah, I can’t wait to get a data center!’ And the reason for that is that there’s nothing for them. It’s gonna ruin the landscape, it’s gonna tap the water, it’s gonna pollute the air, it’s gonna have adverse effects against the environment,” he said.
The hearing is set to continue on June 16.
