Protesters rally against proposed data center in Springdale; 2nd event planned

Brown water, power outages and noise pollution.

“The list goes on and on,” said Springdale resident Sharon Spirk, citing reasons she’s against a proposed data center to be built on 47 acres off Porter Street.

Spirk was one of about 10 people who rallied Monday in opposition to a plan submitted by developer Allegheny DC Property that would see a massive, 565,000-square-foot hyper­scale data center and a 200,000-­square-foot mechanical cooling plant in the borough on the site of the former Cheswick Generating Station.

Developers are expected to go before the borough’s planning commission at 6:30 p.m. Monday. It is among several hearings scheduled before the final decision ultimately lands with borough council.

In the meantime, protesters want to make sure their voices are heard.

They gathered peacefully along Pittsburgh Street, near Glen’s Custard, holding signs and cheering as passing drivers honked their horns. A second rally is being planned for Saturday morning, when more people can potentially attend, said Matt Lang, a resident of neighboring Cheswick. A time has not been set.

“They want this for the electrical grid,” Lang said. “It is expected to use as much electricity as all of Springdale.”

It could impact utility bills exponentially, he said.

That point alone brought Dolly Hoffman out to rally. The Cheswick resident fears her $100 electric bill will skyrocket to $300 or more.

“We have nice little towns,” Hoffman said. “Who’s gonna want to move in here?”

Springdale resident Nancy Weaver doesn’t oppose the data center on merit. She believes there’s not enough research to determine the impact on the riverfront communities.

“There’s no other data center this big in the U.S.,” Weaver said. “There’s one comparable in Portugal, and I bet $100 it’s not in a residential area.”

She believes the location is all wrong for the technology-based facility. Weaver would rather see a warehouse or something to benefit residents. She said that despite environmental restrictions on the land, developers aren’t looking hard enough for potential uses.

The property that held the now-defunct generating station is owned by CPERG, a subsidiary of environmental remediation firm Charah Solutions. Charah is responsible for demolishing the power plant. There is a purchase agreement to sell it to Allegheny DC by the end of the year for an undisclosed price.

“Look at Edgewater Steel in Oakmont,” Spirk said. “They turned that site into houses and businesses. Same goes for Lawrenceville and Hazelwood. You can’t tell me they can’t do something like that here.”

As for the data center, Spirk said, “the hum alone will drive us crazy.

“The cold water will get sucked out of our system and when the windows vibrate, it will sound like nails on a chalkboard. We need to fight this to the end.”