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Contested

Greene County Project Hummingbird (International Electric Power)

Monongahela Township, Greene County

International Electric Power wants to build a gas-fired power plant of roughly 910 to 944 megawatts and an 18 million gallon a day water plant at the former Robena Mine in Monongahela Township to attract a hyperscale data center. The county approved early site work in December 2025, but no tenant has been named and the township says the work hasn't moved forward since.

ContestedGreenfield GasBrownfieldSW
At a glance

The project by the numbers

StatusProposed
Capacity944 MW
Site1400 acres
Water (max)18 MGD
Permanent jobs, as claimed50
First announced2025-08-27
Target online2029 Q1

Gas-fired power plant and hyperscale data center campus proposed for the old Robena Mine in Greene County

The number that mattersIEP says the power plant alone would draw 8 to 9 million gallons a day from the Monongahela River and release it as steam, with the water permit sized for 17 million gallons a day once data center cooling is added, according to Greene County Planning Commission minutes.
Developer
International Electric Power III LLC of Pittsburgh (CEO Peter Dailey; Dave Spigelmyer leads community and government relations), through Project Hummingbird LLC. Essential Utilities agreed in August 2025 to invest $26 million, with its Aqua subsidiary designing, building and running the water treatment plant and its Peoples subsidiary providing gas consulting. IEP has an agreement to buy the land from Core Natural Resources, which still owned it as of September 2026.
Tenant
No end user has been named. IEP said in October 2025 it was talking with seven potential hyperscale customers and expected to choose one in early 2026, and in January 2026 it still hadn't found a company to develop and run the data center. Monongahela Township said in September 2026 it won't finalize a community benefits agreement until a company is in place to sign it.
Current stage
The Greene County Planning Commission gave final approval on Dec. 17, 2025 to Phase 1, which covers mine reclamation, grading and erosion controls on 309 acres, and commissioners confirmed no structures or power equipment were approved, but Monongahela Township said in September 2026 that work on the site hadn't advanced since then. The power plant, water plant and data center would all need later county approvals and state permits, and DEP's data center permit tracker lists the project's expected permits as not yet submitted.
Decision body
Greene County Planning Commission, which reviews land development here because Monongahela Township has no zoning; Monongahela Township Board of Supervisors, which is negotiating a community benefits agreement; Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection for air, water discharge, erosion control, stream encroachment and mining reclamation permits; FEMA for a floodplain map change to fill part of the site; PennDOT for highway access; and FERC and PJM if IEP sells extra power to the grid.
Top issues
Air emissions from two gas turbines next to the village of Alicia, where some homes are within 300 feet of the site; around-the-clock noise, with IEP promising 55 decibels at the fence line and no noise ordinance in the township or county; drawing up to 17 or 18 million gallons a day from the Monongahela River and losing most of it as steam; coal refuse and mine reclamation; fill in the floodplain; safety and disposal of the non-lithium battery storage; slow ambulance and hazardous materials response; and whether residents get a binding community benefits agreement.
Key opponents
No group has come out against the project outright. The Center for Coalfield Justice (executive director Sarah Martik) has organized residents of Alicia and Monongahela Township, pushed the township to hold meetings outside its 9 a.m. slot and to include residents in a community benefits agreement, and raised concerns about water withdrawals from the Monongahela River. Planning commission member Mary Bokat voted against the Phase 1 approval, and at least one resident asked the county for a moratorium in December 2025.
Key supporters
Greene County Commissioner Blair Zimmerman called the project an economic boost that would help the Southeastern Greene School District. Commission Chairman Jared Edgreen called the Essential Utilities partnership "a large step forward" and says coal refuse on the site is leaching into the Monongahela River and the county can't afford to clean it up on its own.

How we got here

Essential Utilities announced on Aug. 27, 2025 that it would invest $26 million in the 1,400-acre project with International Electric Power, building an 18 million gallon a day water treatment plant, and said gas turbine delivery slots were secured for 2028 with operation in early 2029. Local news coverage began in mid-October 2025, and IEP held its first open house for neighbors in late October, where residents of Alicia raised noise, light and emissions concerns. The Greene County Planning Commission gave conditional preliminary approval on Nov. 3, 2025, and the Center for Coalfield Justice held a public meeting on Nov. 19. On Dec. 17, 2025, before more than 250 people, the commission approved Phase 1 site reclamation and grading by an 8 to 1 vote. In 2026 residents and the Center for Coalfield Justice turned to a community benefits agreement, and on Sept. 24, 2026 Monongahela Township said work hadn't advanced since December and the agreement would wait until a company signs on.

What is at stake

Impacts raised and open questions

Water

High

Aqua would build an 18 million gallon a day water treatment plant on the Monongahela River; Essential Utilities says Pennsylvania DEP would monitor and approve all withdrawals.

Observer-Reporter

Air quality

High

Industrial energy park with multiple generation sources.

Water

High

IEP told the county planning commission the gas turbines would draw about 8 million gallons a day from the Monongahela River for cooling and lose it as steam, with nothing discharged back to the river, and that the water permit would cover 17 million gallons a day to allow for data center cooling.

Greene County Planning Commission

Air quality

High

Two natural gas turbines totaling 910 megawatts would run on site; IEP's project engineer said emissions would be about one-third of a coal-fired plant's.

Observer-Reporter

Noise and vibration

Medium

IEP estimates 55 decibels at the fence line for a plant that would run 24 hours a day. Neither Greene County nor Monongahela Township has a noise ordinance, and planning commission members noted about 20 homes nearby, some within 300 feet.

Greene County Planning Commission

Environmental justice and site legacy

Medium

Alicia, the small river village next to the site, is in an environmental justice area. Residents told Farm and Dairy they worry about nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds and particulates, and some bought air monitors to record baseline readings.

Farm and Dairy

Public safety

Medium

Residents asked for a nearby hazardous materials response team in any community benefits agreement because a response could take an hour, along with ongoing air and water testing.

Observer-Reporter

Jobs and tax claims

Low

IEP estimates 40 to 50 permanent jobs at the power plant and 150 to 200 more if a data center is built, and cites an Allegheny Conference estimate of about 1,500 jobs a year over six years, a number a planning commission member questioned.

Greene County Planning Commission
Community response

Who is organizing against it

Center for Coalfield Justice

Washington and Greene counties

Leaders: Sarah Martik, executive director

Tactics: Public meetings, organizing Alicia and Monongahela Township residents, pressing for a community benefits agreement and more convenient township meeting times

Held a public meeting on the project on Nov. 19, 2025 and an organizing session in Greensboro in September 2026.

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Timeline

How it has unfolded

  • 2025-08-27Essential Utilities announced a $26 million investment in the 1,400-acre Greene County project, including an 18 million gallon a day water treatment plant to be built and run by its Aqua subsidiary. Essential Utilities / U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
  • 2025-10-28IEP held its first community open house, where most attendees were residents of nearby Alicia who raised noise, light and emissions concerns. Observer-Reporter
  • 2025-11-03The planning commission granted conditional preliminary approval for Project Hummingbird land development, with one member abstaining. Greene County Planning Commission
  • 2025-11-19The Center for Coalfield Justice held a public meeting on the proposal. Farm and Dairy
  • 2025-12-17The planning commission approved Phase 1 site reclamation and grading on 309 acres by an 8 to 1 vote, with no structures or power equipment included. Greene County Planning Commission
  • 2026-09-23About 25 residents met with the Center for Coalfield Justice in Greensboro to ask for later township meeting times and a say in a community benefits agreement. Observer-Reporter
  • 2026-09-24The township said work on the site hadn't advanced since December 2025 and it won't finalize a community benefits agreement until a company is in place to sign it. Observer-Reporter
News

Coverage of this project

Sources

Know your rights

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 →

Take action

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 →