Mount Carmel Township, Northumberland County
FIT Energy owns about 561 acres of old coal land near Natalie and is pitching a fuel-cell-powered data center. The township has a moratorium in place until November 13, 2026 while it writes a stricter ordinance.
In September 2025 Mount Carmel Township held hearings and gave final approval to a data center zoning overlay for a 450-acre tract of coal land west of Natalie. By October 2025 residents had collected nearly 500 signatures on a petition against a data center there. On November 4, 2025 Gary Namet won a supervisor seat after campaigning against a data center. In December 2025 FIT Energy USA LP bought about 561 acres along Route 54 and Woodland Drive from Susquehanna Coal Company. On May 13, 2026 about 400 people attended a hearing on an amended ordinance, and on May 18, 2026 supervisors voted 3-0 for a moratorium of up to 180 days. In June 2026 CRANE submitted its own ordinance. FIT's team held an open house at the Coal Region Sports Complex on July 21, 2026, and on July 28 supervisors said a first draft of new rules would come in August.
Update, October 26, 2026. On October 21, 2026 the Mount Carmel Township supervisors unanimously adopted a data center zoning ordinance that allows data centers as conditional uses in the I-1A and S-2 districts with a 1,500-foot residential setback, directed their solicitor and engineer to draft supplemental amendments, and voted 3-0 to oppose PPL's proposed Natalie Transmission Project. Earlier in the month, preliminary plans Blue Creek Investments submitted on October 9 for two data centers were found administratively incomplete and weren't accepted for filing.
A third-party study FIT Energy offered the township estimates one data center building would bring about $4.7 million to the township and $13.5 million to the school district during construction, plus 148 permanent jobs (96 direct, 52 indirect).
The News-ItemFIT's team says primary power would come from natural gas fuel cells, with backup generators meeting EPA Tier 4 Final standards and run only for testing and outages. DEP expects an air plan approval for the project.
Mount Carmel Township Data Center TeamThe draft ordinance would allow data centers only in the S-2 Special Coal-Land and Reclamation district on previously mined land. FIT's team says abandoned mine ground would be cleaned up and its voids grouted and compacted before anything is built.
Mount Carmel Township Data Center TeamResidents at the May 2026 hearing raised noise and light pollution, and supervisors say the new draft adds larger setbacks and lower allowable noise levels.
The News-ItemFIT's team says cooling would be air-cooled and closed-loop, with total water demand less than 20 homes and wastewater pretreated before reaching the public sewer.
Mount Carmel Township Data Center TeamTactics: Drafted its own data center zoning ordinance and submitted it to the township in June 2026; met with supervisors for several hours.
No website, Facebook page or petition link was found.
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 →