Oct 16, 2026 · 30 min · 12 segments
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A few dozen residents called on Allegheny County to deny a building plan for a proposed data center outside of Pittsburgh at a hearing on Wednesday night.
Rachel McDevitt reports the project in Springdale needs county approval to move forward.
Representatives from building trades groups spoke in favor of letting the Springdale Data Center advance, saying the project would create and support union jobs in the area.
But the majority of speakers at the virtual hearing were against the center, saying it could threaten jobs because of the center's role in supporting artificial intelligence and would create unbearable noise from the computing facility's coolers and generators and increase air pollution that will harm people's health.
Carol Reinert of Springdale says as a member of the United Steelworkers, she recognizes the value of union jobs, but
the state constitution gives me the right to clean air.
A data center of this size does not belong this close to where humans
The county's Economic Development Office must issue a decision on the building plans by January 26th.
The data center will also need to apply for and get an air quality permit from the county before it can start construction.
A Philly company is developing equipment it hopes will support the future of the hydroelectric power industry.
As Sophia Schmidt reports, federal officials visited the company to announce a research partnership.
So you'll see down here what we call vertical turning lathes.
At Kingsbury's manufacturing plant in northeast Philadelphia, workers cut and shape large pieces of metal into flat donut shapes.
The company's director of engineering, Lou Krajewski, explains these donuts allow heavy machinery to move smoothly.
So as the water is going past the turbine wheels and rotating that shaft, our bearing is allowing that shaft to rotate and bearing the weight of that shaft as it goes around.
The company has been making these bearings for over a century, but Kingsbury President Mike Brawley says modern hydropower dams often turn on and off to balance the electric grid, and that requires new equipment.
There has not been enough testing done and not enough development done with alternate materials, different materials that will survive better under those conditions.
Kingsbury will work with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee to test new materials.
A few dozen residents called on Allegheny County to deny a building plan for a proposed data center outside of Pittsburgh at a hearing on Wednesday night.
Rachel McDevitt reports the project in Springdale needs county approval to move forward.
Representatives from building trades groups spoke in favor of letting the Springdale Data Center advance, saying the project would create and support union jobs in the area.
But the majority of speakers at the virtual hearing were against the center, saying it could threaten jobs because of the center's role in supporting artificial intelligence and would create unbearable noise from the computing facility's coolers and generators and increase air pollution that will harm people's health.
Carol Reinert of Springdale says as a member of the United Steelworkers, she recognizes the value of union jobs, but
the state constitution gives me the right to clean air.
A data center of this size does not belong this close to where humans
The county's Economic Development Office must issue a decision on the building plans by January 26th.
The data center will also need to apply for and get an air quality permit from the county before it can start construction.
A Philly company is developing equipment it hopes will support the future of the hydroelectric power industry.
As Sophia Schmidt reports, federal officials visited the company to announce a research partnership.
So you'll see down here what we call vertical turning lathes.
At Kingsbury's manufacturing plant in northeast Philadelphia, workers cut and shape large pieces of metal into flat donut shapes.
The company's director of engineering, Lou Krajewski, explains these donuts allow heavy machinery to move smoothly.
So as the water is going past the turbine wheels and rotating that shaft, our bearing is allowing that shaft to rotate and bearing the weight of that shaft as it goes around.
The company has been making these bearings for over a century, but Kingsbury President Mike Brawley says modern hydropower dams often turn on and off to balance the electric grid, and that requires new equipment.
There has not been enough testing done and not enough development done with alternate materials, different materials that will survive better under those conditions.
Kingsbury will work with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee to test new materials.
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