Nov 6, 2025 By Garrett Neese 5 min read

The Greene County Planning Commission gave preliminary approval for land development for a plant to power a proposed data center at the former site of the Robena Mine in Monongahela Township.

All members of the nine-person commission, except one who abstained, voted in favor of the proposal, which included grading and reclamation of mining lands for commercial use. Approval is contingent on the project getting other required permits.

Representatives from International Electric Power, the Pittsburgh company that will supply power for the site, spoke at the commission’s November meeting on Monday. Plans call for the data center to be powered by two 450-megawatt natural gas turbines.

The turbines would be used to power a water treatment plant and proposed hyperscale data center. At a recent open house, IEP CEO Peter Dailey said seven potential customers have shown interest in the site.

To service the plant and center, Essential Utilities is building a 18-million-gallon-per-day water treatment plant, which will undergo a separate approval process.

The power plant itself would use between 8 million to 9 million gallons of water from the Monongahela River per day, said Dave Spigelmyer, head of community and government relations for IEP. Instead of water being discharged back into the river, it would be released as steam.

Water use would be about half that of the former Hatfield’s Ferry Power Station nearby, Spigelmyer said.

During the first phase, work would disturb about 309 acres of the 413 that would be taken up by the plant. The total project area spans about 1,400 acres.

Members of the planning commission asked about issues including light generation and sound, which had been brought up by residents of the small village of Alicia, which is adjacent to the mine site.

Spigelmyer said the noise at the fence level from the power plants would be 55 decibels. According to the Hearing Health Foundation, sounds at or below 70 decibels are considered safe. The foundation likened 55 decibels as being between normal noise in a room and the sound of background music.

How much noise an eventual data center would produce would depend on what kind of cooling system it uses, said John Hamilton, IEP’s senior vice president of technology and development. One using air would be noisier. He thought there was more chance of a closed-loop system, akin to a car radiator, which would be quieter.

Planning Commission member Brian Sokol said it seemed like too large an investment for IEP not to know how much sound the eventual complex would produce.

“I love the project,” he said. “I just want to protect the people in Alicia. That’s where I’m at. And as long as they can be happy, I’ll be happy.”

Spigelmyer said the company would work closely with the community to minimize impacts such as sound, lighting and viewsheds.

“We’re not here to harm anyone,” he said. “We’re here to try and develop jobs and growth for Greene County and work cooperatively with the community.”

Members of the planning commission also asked about the 15 acres of battery storage included in the conceptual plan, and the potential for fire hazard.

IEP civil engineer and design manager Josh Schroeder said the energy storage batteries are non-lithium, creating minimal chance of fires.

Commission member Greta Mooney asked how the large-scale batteries would be disposed of after they’ve outlived their usefulness.

“As you know, we are Greene County, and we’ve had numerous issues with things not being properly disposed of and handled properly,” she said.

Hamilton said the battery arrays are placed inside modular boxes about half the size of a shipping container, which can be affordably moved offsite as needed.

A vote on final approval at the planning commission level would come 90 days later, though the commission can also approve an extension, said board Chairman Julie Gatrell.

Before the preliminary approval takes effect, IEP has to obtain clearance on several fronts.

The company submitted a permit application to the state Department of Environmental Protection for erosion and sediment control in October. DEP’s mining and waterways, and wetlands divisions collectively said IEP needed to resubmit its application, as there is still an active mining permit at the site.

Three hours before the meeting, Schroeder learned there was a new chance their mining reclamation plan, which would close out the permit, could be processed simultaneously with the erosion and sediment control plan.

“If there’s any streams and wetlands (work) after the reclamation plan is completed, then that’ll be a part of the (permit application),” he said.

IEP is also working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to add fill to the site, so it can remove the site from its 100-year floodplain maps. Schroder said surveying work should be complete in two weeks, after which IEP can submit its request to FEMA.

Schroeder said they anticipated being able to ask for final approval in January, with the goal of starting to move dirt on the site by March 1.

The turbines would arrive on site in the first and third quarters of 2028, with an anticipated start date in 2029.

Greene County Planning Director Kyle Lamb noted the political push behind data centers statewide, tied to the effort to become a leader in artificial intelligence development. And the prospect of data centers in Greene County has come up at every recent meeting he’s been to “all the way to Scranton.”

“This is the fastest since I’ve been here that it’s moved,” he said.

Before a hearing on final approval, the planning commission will reach out to the community, publish a notice in the newspaper and invite people connected to the property, Lamb said.

To accommodate the crowd, “We will likely have to move this to a different site,” he said.