For John Zola, the 40 acres of land in northern Pennsylvania were a dream: apple orchards nestled among rolling hills, a barn, meadows, and enough space for four homes—each for himself, his wife, and their three adult children. However, this paradise turned into a nightmare when a contractor from the local power utility approached him in late 2024 with news that a 500-kilovolt power line would be built through his property.
The construction of 240-foot metal towers would not only dwarf the century-old apple trees but also loom over the Zolas’ homes, as well as the basketball court and swimming pool where their grandchildren play. This power line is part of a growing trend in the United States, where new high-voltage transmission lines are being planned at an accelerating pace to deliver power to massive data centers operated by global tech giants.
While advancements in artificial intelligence are seen as crucial to national security and economic growth, they come with a significant downside: an insatiable demand for electricity that threatens to overwhelm the power grid. For individuals like Zola, this means being caught in the crosshairs of a rapidly expanding infrastructure project.
PPL, the local utility company, claims it has done everything possible to balance the impact on residents while fulfilling its duty to provide reliable electricity. However, Zola feels the company is more concerned with profits than people.
“They don’t look at whose lives they are destroying, whose property they are destroying,” Zola said.
Big power lines, big data centers
These high-voltage power lines represent the latest battleground in the conflict surrounding the operations of large tech companies. Local opposition has grown against numerous massive data centers due to concerns about rising electricity costs and potential damage to communities.
Opponents of transmission projects argue that these lines intrude on private land and pose long-term risks to public lands, farms, property values, and natural waterways. They believe the electricity generated by these projects does not benefit them directly.
Transmission projects have always faced challenges, including lengthy permitting processes. However, two decades of relatively stable power demand did not create much urgency. Analysts now warn that the grid is outdated and inefficient, and with surging demand, it may soon face widespread blackouts during extreme weather conditions.
Utilities maintain that any new transmission line, even those primarily serving large customers like data centers or industrial sites, benefits everyone by increasing grid capacity. Some members of Congress are pushing to exclude certain lines from state or environmental reviews, while some tech companies are attempting to build their own power plants to avoid regulatory hurdles.
These transmission projects are not simple local power lines on wooden poles. Instead, they involve steel towers that are five or six times taller, carrying power across vast distances. Some projects, like the Sugarloaf line that could cross Zola’s property, require corridors up to 200 feet wide.
Caught in the middle
Utility companies predict that their spending will be driven largely by transmission projects, with projected transmission spending doubling to nearly $50 billion annually from 2019 to 2028. However, this expansion has sparked resistance from landowners, conservationists, local officials, consumer advocates, and even some states.
In Texas’ Hill Country, the Hill Country Preservation Coalition has formed to oppose the construction of one of three 765-kilovolt lines. The coalition’s founder, Jada Jo Smith, calls the project a “Goliath” that will be difficult to stop. To reduce harm, the group is urging state regulators to consider a slightly longer route that follows existing highway corridors.
“Why would you choose a route that would potentially harm our most iconic rivers that we have left in the state of Texas?” Smith asked.
‘These are real dollars’
Pennsylvania’s state consumer advocate, Darryl Lawrence, is challenging a $1.7 billion proposed line that spans over 200 miles from West Virginia through half of Pennsylvania. He questions whether cheaper alternatives exist, whether the data center demand it serves will actually materialize, and why grid operators want to import power into a state that typically exports it.
West Virginians are also opposing two proposed transmission lines connecting coal-fired power plants to northern Virginia, a region known as the “data center alley.” In the Midwest, a $22 billion transmission package is facing a monthslong battle, with utility regulators in several states urging federal regulators to block it.
“I think you may see more of those,” said Todd Snitchler, president and CEO of the Electric Power Supply Association. “These are real dollars and consumers are paying a lot of attention.”
The Indiana-based Midcontinent Independent System Operator told federal regulators that the lines are necessary to meet the growing demand from manufacturing and data centers. It stated that the need for new power transmission “has never been greater.”
‘There’s no amount of money for me’
In eastern Pennsylvania, Amazon and other developers have so many data center projects in the works that PPL predicts its peak electricity demand will more than triple by 2030. PPL, which serves over 1.5 million electric customers, argues that the 12-mile Sugarloaf project will minimize disruptions by reusing and expanding a power line corridor that once carried a residential line.
The utility has offered to pay property owners for access to their land, but landowners fear that if they refuse, PPL might use eminent domain to force a settlement. The new line would run just 100 feet from where Zola’s grandchildren sleep at night. Recently, Zola said holdout landowners received higher cash offers from PPL.
“My offer went from $17,000 to $85,000,” Zola said. “Just like that. And there’s no amount of money for me. And when you come here, you’ll understand why.”
