“I’ll give every household $10,000” ... Residents reject U.S. data center project, saying “We don’t need a bribe”

[Financial News] Data center construction projects across the United States are facing delays amid conflicts with local residents. In eastern Pennsylvania, a developer has even offered $10,000 (about 13.32 million won) in compensation, but residents are rejecting it as a “bribe” and opposing the data center project.
According to the French news agency AFP and U.S. daily The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 18th (local time), the Eagle Rock Resort community in Hazle Township is a residential development at the foot of the Pocono Mountains. It has hundreds of comfortable homes, two golf courses, a swimming pool and an equestrian center. There are also slopes for skiing in winter.
But residents’ daily lives changed when forest was cleared at a site of about 5.3 square kilometers below Eagle Rock Resort in late 2024 to make way for a 15-building data center complex. Residents strongly objected, saying they had received no advance notice and were concerned about noise and environmental pollution. They later secured a court order halting construction and a local government measure temporarily suspending the development project.
Several pieces of heavy machinery now stand idle across the vast tract of cleared forest.
Eventually, Northpoint Development began sending letters to households in June, appealing to them to support the development project and saying, “A lot of misinformation and fear has spread about the data center and our project.” It promised to establish a $165 million fund (about 219.3 billion won) for residents, to be used to build a police station and lower waste disposal fees. It added, “Of the fund, $45 million (about 59.8 billion won) will be used to pay $10,000 in compensation to each household once the data center’s first building becomes operational.”
Ed Negra, a resident in his 70s who received the development company’s letter, called it “a bribe” and said, “I think this is a beautiful place to live after retirement.” Jeff Fasnacht, a retired high school teacher, also said that “$10,000 is a lot of money for struggling young couples who can barely cover their living expenses on their wages,” but drew a line, saying, “This compensation offer is a bribe.”
U.S. President Donald Trump actively supports data center construction, saying the United States must secure its leadership in artificial intelligence (AI), but polls show opposition to construction regardless of political affiliation.
According to Data Center Watch, which tracks opposition to data center construction, at least 75 data center projects in the United States were halted or delayed because of resident opposition during the first quarter of this year.
As a result, data center construction has become a major issue in November’s midterm elections. The area around Hazle Township, Pennsylvania, is considered a stronghold of the ruling Republican Party.
Erica Cook, who lives in Sugarloaf Township near Hazle Township, said, “The movement against data centers is bringing residents together across party lines.”
[email protected] Hong Chae-wan Reporter