Stronghold/Bitfarms Scrubgrass + Panther Creek
Scrubgrass Twp / Nesquehoning, Venango + Carbon County
A 475 megawatt project proposed for Scrubgrass Township and Nesquehoning, Venango and Carbon County, and the end user has not been named publicly.
The project by the numbers
Proposed for Scrubgrass Township and Nesquehoning, Venango and Carbon County
- Tenant
- Not disclosed. No end user has been named publicly.
- Current stage
- Panther Creek zoning secured and site development underway; Scrubgrass remains in planning as a potential long-term AI campus.
- Decision body
- Scrubgrass Twp / Nesquehoning
- Top issues
- Residents and officials have focused on electricity demand and grid capacity, what remains in the ground from the site's industrial past, how little has been disclosed about the end user, water use, continuous mechanical noise, and emissions from backup generation.
Bitfarms acquired Stronghold March 2025. Submitted preliminary load studies for +390 MW import at Scrubgrass; obtained option on ~1,140 acres adjacent to Panther Creek. Engaged Appleby Strategy Group to evaluate AI DC reuse. In discussion to register for PJM demand response. Stronghold Digital Mining's 85 MW Scrubgrass waste-coal plant in Venango County and 80 MW Panther Creek plant in Nesquehoning, Carbon County were acquired by Bitfarms in a $175 million deal completed March 2025, with the companies saying the sites could scale toward 955 MW with added transmission. Both burn coal refuse, a Pennsylvania Tier II alternative energy resource, and operate largely behind the meter supplying computing rather than selling to the grid, a model that drew a 2023 federal inquiry into Stronghold diverting power from PJM. Bitfarms rebranded as Keel Infrastructure on April 1, 2026 after redomiciling to the United States. In first-quarter 2026 results the company said zoning was secured and site development on track at Panther Creek, Sharon, and Moses Lake, Washington, while Scrubgrass, which it has described as potentially its largest long-term AI campus, remained in planning.
Coverage of this project
- 2026-06-02 exploreClarion / exploreVenangoScrubgrass Could Become Area's Largest AI Data Center CampusKeel rebrand; zoning secured at Panther Creek and Sharon; Scrubgrass still planning
- 2025-03-12 exploreVenangoCrypto Mining Facility Tied to Gas Well Quietly Sets Up in Venango CountyBehind-the-meter model and the 2023 FERC scrutiny of Stronghold
- 2025-03-04 POWER MagazineCanada Bitcoin Miner Acquiring Two Pennsylvania Coal Plants85 MW Scrubgrass and 80 MW Panther Creek acquired; expansion to 955 MW floated
- 2025-03 Data Center DynamicsCrypto firm Bitfarms to acquire Stronghold MiningWaste-coal generation behind the meter
Know your rights
In Pennsylvania, a data center on industrial land usually needs a special exception or conditional use, decided by a local Zoning Hearing Board after a public, quasi-judicial hearing. Neighbors can request party status, cross-examine witnesses, and build an evidentiary record. Municipalities can also write 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 ask your municipality for a moratorium and a real ordinance.
How communities push back →