Data center backlash!
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How are AI data centers reshaping small towns like Conshohocken?
America's hottest club is data centers. These are the plants that contain the infrastructure for AI, and they are immense.
Look at that. That's the size of Manhattan. I think they say 81% of Manhattan. So these are big things.
Immense means construction. Construction means jobs. Jobs means politicians, whether MAGA or Democrat, love to say... Data centers are coming to Virginia, and many localities want to welcome them.
A data center is coming to town.
The problem is town, Noel. Town does not want Manhattan in its backyard. Town has noticed electricity bills creeping higher. Today on Today Explained, I go to Pennsylvania town to report on the data center backlash that's scrambling American politics. We live right down the street and we don't want this shit to happen, man. Support for today explained comes from BetterHelp. The holidays are a time of traditions. Incorporating therapy into your new or existing traditions can help ensure you take the time you need for yourself. BetterHelp Online Therapy says they can help you close the year with clarity rather than chaos. A short questionnaire identifies your needs and preferences and matches you with one of over 30,000 therapists.
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This is Today Explained. Miles Bryan, go ahead, give me your full name and tell me what you do. My name is Miles Bryan, and I'm the senior producer and reporter for Today Explained.
What economic pitch do developers use to attract data centers to communities?
You have been out in the world covering how a local community is responding to the data center boom. What's going on? Well, I actually want to start this story with a steel mill. It's this massive, hulking, technically it's a steel plate finishing facility on the banks of the Schuylkill River, just outside of Philadelphia, near a town called Conshohocken. Okay, because this is a Miles Bryan story, I feel like I know where this is headed. You do. This is a story I've done versions of on this show. We've all heard a bunch of this story recently because it's a story about the rise and fall of an industrial economy. This mill opened in the 1830s. It employed thousands of people. It was this anchor employer for the area, which had a booming economy, making stuff in the 19th and early 20th century.
But you know, the next beat here, times change, the economy de-industrialized, the mill lays off a ton of people in the 70s, Conshohocken becomes more of a white-collar office place. And last summer, the steel mill was closed indefinitely, laid off about 100 people. Just last summer? When and how do data centers come into this? So our old economy story ends during the summer, and our new economy story begins this fall.
Call to order the Wednesday, October 1st, 2025 planning agency meeting.
A couple of months ago, a developer named Brian O'Neill moved to buy the entire 66-acre mill and turn it into a data center.
And what I'm proposing is to enable AI to progress while replacing 19th century manufacturing with 21st century manufacturing in the existing manufacturing buildings.
And he gave this pitch at a local zoning board and he billed it as a win-win, you know, land an anchor of the AI economy and bring in a ton of tax revenue without the town having to actually provide much in terms of services.
The annual revenue of the building I'm proposing is $21 million a year. And that's with no traffic. No kids in the school system, nothing but cash flow.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
How are AI data centers reshaping small towns like Conshohocken?
0:00–2:33
2
What economic pitch do developers use to attract data centers to communities?
2:33–7:19
3
Why are neighbors organizing against proposed data centers in residential areas?
7:19–12:27
4
How much are data centers contributing to rising regional electricity demand and bills?
12:27–18:16
5
What political consequences are emerging from local anti–data center campaigns?
18:16–24:16
6
Why did the Conshohocken data center project get paused after local opposition?
24:16–26:59