Data centers become a boogeyman in Pennsylvania

Published October 6, 2026 5:47pm ET



BUCKS COUNTY, Pennsylvania — Just a few months ago, data centers were the belle of the Pennsylvania ball. Now they’re public enemy No. 1.

A bartender in Harrisburg back in the spring told me she thought the local economy was on the rise, and she pointed to a plan to reopen the long-dormant Three Mile Island nuclear plant to power a fleet of data centers for Microsoft.

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