May 22, 2026 − Senator Amanda Cappelletti releases the following statement in response to Data Center proposals in District 17:
My team and I have heard from many of our neighbors across District 17 who have expressed deep concerns about proposed hyperscale data centers in and around our area. This includes eight proposed centers in Upper Merion Township, which would span more than four million square feet of land. Think about that, a bigger footprint than the Philadelphia airport.
Those proposals are up for public consideration at the Upper Merion Planning Commission’s meeting on May 27 at 7 p.m.
Whether you’re concerned about data centers’ impact on our collective quality of life, our public health, our environment, or our wallets as utility ratepayers, we can all agree: our communities are not fodder for ultra-wealthy developers’ hasty and unregulated attempts to turn a profit at our expense.
To ensure the safety and wellbeing of every Pennsylvanian is upheld, our state legislature must act. Now is the time to implement consistent and comprehensive guardrails to regulate hyperscale data center development, ensure transparency and collaboration with the community throughout potential development, and protect our most basic rights to needs like clean air and water. Until the concept of regulating data centers becomes our reality, I stand with my community in opposing data center development in our neighborhoods.
###