Overview
- The coalition held a rally and news conference at City Hall on Monday to press City Council for a moratorium that would pause any hyperscale data center approvals.
- Organizers say Philadelphia currently has no local rules that set where hyperscale data centers can be built or how to limit harms such as higher utility bills, air and water pollution, and expanded surveillance.
- City planning officials have identified only two city sites that could host industrial-scale data centers: the Bellwether District, the former South Philly refinery, and a city-owned plot at 2600 Grant Ave. near the Northeast airport.
- Governor Josh Shapiro’s August executive order removed fast-track state permits and requires local approval and developer-paid energy upgrades, a change organizers say makes local moratoria and rules more consequential.
- No formal data center proposals are on file, no council member has pledged to introduce a moratorium bill, and activists plan to press council at upcoming meetings while highlighting job, health, and bill impacts seen in other communities.