Pennsylvania Researchers Eye Polluted Mine Lands as Sites for Data Centers
Pennsylvania has more than 5,500 abandoned coal mines, whose cleanup would cost roughly $5 billion and which have contaminated thousands of miles of waterways. Researchers suggest that building data centers on these degraded lands could repurpose unwanted acreage, use underground mine water for cooling, and help fund environmental restoration. A 2023 federal study found such sites offer land, power infrastructure, and cooling potential, potentially easing local opposition to new data centers.
Pennsylvania's roughly 5,586 abandoned coal mines would cost about $5 billion to reclaim, and they have already contaminated thousands of miles of waterways. A 2023 federal study identified these sites as potentially suitable for data center development due to available land, existing power infrastructure, and the cooling potential of underground mine water.
Proof of concept exists at Iron Mountain's facility in Boyers, operating since 2013 in a former limestone mine. The 330,000-square-foot underground data center uses a closed-loop cooling system drawing on a 100-acre underground lake, requiring no outside water. Penn State researcher Zhongyang He suggests that if developers fund cleanup and acid water treatment, local communities may be more receptive to such proposals.
This proposal could reshape how communities weigh environmental restoration against industrial development. If data centers fund mine cleanup, Pennsylvania might address a $5 billion liability while meeting growing digital infrastructure demands. However, residents near these sites may still harbor concerns about energy consumption and long-term environmental impacts. The outcome could influence whether other states with abandoned mines adopt similar strategies, potentially establishing a new model for balancing technological growth with environmental rehabilitation.