16 hyperscale data centersdo not belong on farmlandsurrounded by homes
PAX-1 is a 694 acre compound of 16 massive data center buildings being built on farmland, beside the Conodoguinet Creek, and a third of a mile from the Appalachian Trail. They quietly rewrote the rules to allow it.
We are fighting to change the rules back.
Middlesex Township · Cumberland County · Pennsylvania
9× the electricity
of all homes in Cumberland County
400,000 gallons of water
every day
532 diesel generators
tested daily on average
~50 football fields
of rooftops
Why we're fighting
What does this cost us?
Miles of concrete bury 694 acres of once arable farmland. In its place, a massive compound stands, devouring our water and electricity. Our bills rise as we compete for what's left. The peace of the Conodoguinet Creek is replaced by 24/7 mechanical noise. Sixteen buildings, 80 feet tall, scar the scenic beauty of the Appalachian Trail. 532 diesel generators pollute the air. Floodlights wash out the night sky. In the end, we trade our heritage and our children's future for industry. We become a data center town. That label is a one-way door that future generations inherit whether they want it or not.
How did this happen?
The state fast-tracked it.
Pennsylvania, under Governor Shapiro, promoted data centers statewide, exempted their equipment from sales tax, and drew $26 billion in projects into central Pennsylvania. It fueled a gold rush, and left townships to zone hyperscale data centers with no state standards and no model ordinance.
The developer sold it.
PowerHouse asked the township to drop a special data center overlay onto their land, pitched as low impact and high revenue. Their own attorney helped draft it.
The township bought it.
Thirty-five days after the developer asked, the board adopted the overlay at a 7:30 a.m. workshop and made data centers permitted by right. The developer had taken township and county staff to Virginia to tour their own data centers. The board hired no expert of its own. When it voted, there was no noise study, no traffic study, no water study, and no environmental study on the table.
The township got promises of tax revenue from a $15 billion project.
They counted what the project might bring in. They never counted what it would cost.
What the township gave away
On September 3, 2025, residents asked the board to make data centers a conditional use. The board said no.
Residents asked for conditional use
- A public hearing on whether it belongs here
- Residents get a say in the outcome
- The board weighs this project against this neighborhood
- The board can set limits, or say no
The township chose by right
- No hearing on whether it belongs here
- Residents can speak. It changes nothing.
- No judgment call. No case by case review.
- If the plans meet the ordinance, the township must approve.
In Middlesex, a warehouse needs a public hearing. So does a truck terminal. So does a solid waste facility. A hyperscale data center does not.
The only rules that bind the developer are the rules the developer helped write.
This isn't over
They haven't won yet.
Yes, bulldozers are rolling, but that doesn't make it legal, and it doesn't make it final. This was pushed through with real gaps, and gaps can be challenged.
Where things stand
We are fighting back.
We've filed legal challenges against three gaps in how this was pushed through: the rezoning, the incomplete approvals, and the permit they're building on.
Who are we?
We're your neighbors.
We didn't ask for this fight, but everyone who should have protected us failed, so we chose to stand in the gap. We're not activists or experts, we're ordinary people like you.
Help us Stop PAX-1
Your neighbors know this is wrong, and they're putting their names and money behind stopping it.
35% of the way toward our $100,000 goal
Fund the fight
Lawyers stop bulldozers.
We shouldn't have to spend our money this way. But laws only hold when someone enforces them. That falls to us now. Every dollar buys attorneys and the experts we need to push back.
This is bigger than a data center. PAX-1 will show whether deep pockets can write their own rules. Middlesex Township is the line in the sand. Stop them here, and we set the precedent that the law still holds in Pennsylvania.
100% goes to the legal fund.
Get Involved
How else can I help?
Get a sign, show up, add your name, and lend us a hand.
Get a sign for your yard.
Put the fight in front of every neighbor who drives past.
Show up in person.
Next meeting · Wednesday, August 5 · 6:00 pm
Board of Supervisors, Regular Meeting
Add your name.
Stand with your neighbors in public opposition to PAX-1.
Lend us a hand.
We need experts who can testify, neighbors willing to pack out meetings, and willing hands for the hard work that keeps the fight moving.
Want printable signs and flyers for your neighborhood? Spread the Word →
Ready to dive deeper?
Review the plans, see how we got here, and follow the fight.