Bethlehem Planning Commission approves 120 MW data centre plan, WFMZ reports

The City of Bethlehem Planning Commission approved a land development plan and waivers for a two-storey data centre at 2184 Industrial Drive in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, on 12 November, WFMZ reported. WFMZ describes it as a 120 MW facility, on a site in the part of the city that lies in Lehigh County.

The city's agenda for the meeting lists the project as major land development plan 26-008 LD, on a site zoned Planned Industrial (PI), with plans dated 13 August 2026. According to the agenda, the applicants would clear every existing structure from the site and build the data centre with a 61,018 sq ft substation area, a 17,159 sq ft medium voltage switchgear area, two loading spaces, ten parking spaces and underground stormwater management. A 28 October memo from the city's Bureau of Engineering says the data centre would take the place of a 40,653 sq ft industrial building. The plan set filed with the city names Boyle Construction, Inc. as applicant and Paxos Enterprises, LLC as owner.

The plan set asks for waivers from the city's subdivision and land development rules on fill slopes, driveway width and tree planting. The Bureau of Engineering memo says the Department of Public Works backs the driveway waiver if the entrances are built as the City Engineer's office directs, and WFMZ reported that the tree requirement, which cannot be met on the site, would be covered by a fee in lieu.

WFMZ reported that Dylan Panebianco, Boyle Construction's vice president of operations, told the commission that three natural gas generators would sit in a basement under the building and that the facility would be cooled by a closed-loop system. WFMZ said the generators would comply with Environmental Protection Agency rules and provide 20 per cent of the facility's power, and that the closed-loop system needs no water. The architectural drawings filed with the city show a generator area on the basement floor plan and chillers on the roof. WFMZ also reported that the company would put about $86 million into power upgrades and pay in full for a new gas supply line.

WFMZ reported that Panebianco listed silencers on the generators and sound blankets on the chillers among the noise measures, and that the project's sound study shows the data centre would emit at most 55 decibels.

Bethlehem City Council passed a data centre zoning amendment on 10 November, WFMZ reported: one change defines a data centre and another allows data centres in the Industrial zoning district by special exception. WFMZ said the proposal is exempt from the new rules, and that commission chairman Robert Melosky said the applicant meets many parts of them. The city's 11 November review letter on the plan says the development falls under the zoning ordinance now in force, and asks the applicants to answer the drafted data centre amendment in writing.