[DigitalToday reporter Choi Jae-won (최재원)] A plan to build a large data centre in Pennsylvania has met resistance from local residents. The developer even offered support payments of $10,000 per household, but many residents are worried about noise and impacts on the environment and property values.

Tech site TechRadar reported on Sept. 30 (local time) that NorthPoint Development is pushing ahead with a data centre campus called Project Hazelnut in Hazle Township, Pennsylvania, covering about 1,300 acres, or about 5.26 million square metres. If the plan goes ahead, it would include 15 data centre buildings and a substation.

The company unveiled a $45 million support plan to win local backing, paying $10,000 each to about 4,500 households. It would be paid once the first data centre building receives an occupancy approval, with no restrictions on how the money is used. Brent Miles (브렌트 마일스), NorthPoint's chief marketing officer, described it as a direct answer to residents' question: "What benefit is there for me?"

But many residents pushed back, treating it as a de facto bribe. Some also pointed out that those living closer to the data centre would bear greater harm, and paying the same amount to all households could only fuel community conflict. Residents are concerned about noise, water use, the possibility of higher power costs, environmental impacts and falling home values.

NorthPoint also proposed, in addition to the household payments, a $15 million community fund and support for the township totalling $105 million, paying $7 million a year for the next 15 years. The overall local support package amounts to $165 million.

The project has already hit a snag in the permitting stage. Hazle Township rejected the development plan in November last year, and in June this year introduced a limited 180-day moratorium to draw up ordinances related to data centres. Legal and administrative procedures between the developer and the local government are also continuing.

The U.S. federal government is moving to speed up permitting for large data centres, but conflict continues locally over burdens involving noise, power, water and the environment. Project Hazelnut is also becoming an example showing that large economic support alone makes it hard to ease residents' concerns.