Tioga County
Alpha Compute wants to buy about 243 acres and 1,800 acres of gas rights in Tioga County and burn its own Marcellus gas to run a 200 MW data center that could grow to 1 GW. It hasn't said which township.
Tioga County commissioners adopted a countywide data center ordinance on Dec. 9, 2025, after a landman approached the county about sites, and Commissioner Shane Nickerson later said it limits sound to 57 decibels. On Feb. 10, 2026, the commissioners adopted an amended version, Ordinance No. 2026-3, which took effect that day. A residents' group began a Change.org petition against data centers in the county on May 8, 2026. On Aug. 11, 2026, Alpha Compute announced a $55 million binding term sheet for land and Marcellus gas rights in northern Pennsylvania for a 200 MW gas-powered campus, without naming the county. On Sept. 10 it amended the deal to add $47 million in seller financing and named Tioga County as the campus site, with a 107-acre Beaver County property held for future development. An investor presentation furnished to the SEC on Sept. 14 put the company's market value at about $6.3 million. On Sept. 22 it announced a separate $5.5 million purchase of a 300-acre oil field elsewhere in Pennsylvania for a second data center, without saying where. A Sept. 25 SEC filing refers to the pending Tioga East acquisition.
The company plans simple-cycle gas turbines burning gas produced on site to generate an initial 200 MW, with potential expansion to 1 GW. It says it is evaluating carbon dioxide storage in deep formations under the site, which would need separate rights and approvals.
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR)The plan calls for twelve Marcellus wells with laterals of about 13,000 feet drilled from two new pads, and the company's screening found three small wetlands it would avoid or relocate with permits. It says cooling would be closed-loop, and the county ordinance requires a water feasibility study with Susquehanna River Basin Commission permitting.
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR)The company says it would hold sound to 57 dBA at neighboring property lines, which it calls the community standard. Commissioner Shane Nickerson has said the county ordinance limits sound to 57 decibels.
Alpha Compute Corp. via ACCESS Newswire, reposted by First News Now PAThe company promises full-cutoff lighting, low-reflective earth-tone and barn-style buildings set behind berms and native plantings, and riparian buffers along streams.
Alpha Compute Corp. via ACCESS Newswire, reposted by First News Now PAThe opposition petition warns that night lighting, noise and industrial buildings threaten the dark skies at Cherry Springs and the wild landscape that draws visitors to the PA Wilds.
Change.orgCounty Ordinance 2026-3 caps data center buildings at 65 feet and requires setbacks of 250 feet from property lines and roads, 1,000 feet from homes or other sensitive receptors not on the project parcel, and 200 feet from streams and wetlands.
Tioga County Board of CommissionersThe company says the campus would generate its own power behind the meter and place no new draw on the regional grid, though a nearby 115 kV line and substations could offer an optional grid connection.
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR)Leaders: Kathryn Peters, administrator
Tactics: Petition, yard signs, town hall meetings, attending township and borough meetings to push for zoning or the county ordinance
Organized before Alpha Compute's announcement to oppose any hyperscale data center in the county. The petition had 2,841 signatures toward a 5,000 goal when checked Oct. 18, 2026. Its Facebook group is named in press coverage but no link was confirmed.
In Pennsylvania, the local zoning ordinance sets the route. A conditional use is decided by the elected governing body (supervisors, commissioners or council). A special exception or variance, and an appeal of a zoning officer’s decision, go to the Zoning Hearing Board. Each is a public hearing on a record: affected neighbors can ask for party status, cross-examine witnesses, and appeal. Municipalities can also adopt data center ordinances with enforceable standards.
Know your rights →Organized community opposition is the single most effective check on these projects in Pennsylvania. Show up to hearings, submit comment when it is taken, support legal and expert-witness costs, and press your municipality for a real ordinance. Pennsylvania municipalities cannot simply freeze applications, but a curative amendment under the Planning Code gives them a defined window to fix a defective ordinance.
How communities push back →