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Terawatt Roaring Spring Data Center (former Appvion paper mill)

Taylor Township, Blair County

Terawatt Data Centers is looking at the former Appvion mill property in Taylor Township, Blair County. No plans are filed yet, and the township is rushing to adopt data center rules first while hundreds of residents push for an outright ban.

ContestedTBD/UndisclosedBrownfieldN Central
At a glance

The project by the numbers

StatusProposed
Site330 acres
Water (max)0.015 MGD
Capex$ 1.5 B
Permanent jobs, as claimed50
First announced2026-09-08

Data center eyed for the old Appvion paper mill in Roaring Spring

The number that mattersAfter residents quoted Gov. Shapiro's debate line that a community that doesn't want a data center won't get one, township solicitor Patrick Fanelli said, "It might sound good in a debate, but it's not accurate," adding that municipalities may be "obligated to approve, even if they don't want it."
Developer
Terawatt Data Centers (also spelled TerraWatt), described by the Altoona Mirror as based in New York City. The Morrisons Cove Herald reports the company is a group of four firms operating as TerraWatt LLC and identifies David Daneshforooz, founder of Contour, and chief financial officer David Lambiaso as partners. TerraWatt hasn't built a data center of its own yet. Its 120 MW project in Midtown St. Louis is tied up in a lawsuit TerraWatt filed against the city over its renewable energy requirements, and in October 2026 it proposed a 200 MW, $3 billion data center at the former Alton Steel site in Alton, Illinois (St. Louis Public Radio, October 21, 2026).
Tenant
No tenant announced.
Current stage
Taylor Township supervisors unanimously approved the data center amendment to the subdivision and land development ordinance at a special meeting on October 22, 2026. The rules include a 50 decibel sound limit and a 300-foot minimum distance from existing structures. Chairman Jerome Dodson said the township hasn't received any plans from TerraWatt and that the board will keep amending the ordinance. No plans or land development application have been filed, and neighboring Roaring Spring Borough's solicitor is drafting a borough ordinance of its own.
Decision body
Taylor Township Board of Supervisors (Chairman Jerome Dodson, Vice Chairman Walter Piper, Supervisor David Cunningham) for the ordinance and any land development plan, with Keller Engineers reviewing plans and Pennsylvania Municipal Code Alliance handling permits. State DEP permits would follow local approval.
Top issues
low-frequency noise reaching homes, schools and the hospital; electric rates and who pays for grid upgrades; water use near Halter Creek, a Class A trout stream; property values; light pollution; whether the township can say no under state law; trust in the developer's promises
Key opponents
Indivisible Blair County (president Carol Taylor); organizers of a 2,300-signature residents' petition presented Oct. 8; a Change.org petition calling for an independent impact study and binding enforcement terms.
Key supporters
No organized support. Supervisors Chairman Jerome Dodson has relayed the company's assurances on noise, water and electric costs and urged people to weigh pros and cons, and Spring Cove School Board member Troy Wright said he's open to the idea while he keeps researching.

How we got here

Roaring Spring Park LLC bought the closed Appvion mill in July 2021, and in April 2025 the site's owners said they would clear it for future industrial use. Residents raised data center rumors at Roaring Spring Borough Council in May and August 2026. At its Sept. 8, 2026 meeting, Taylor Township confirmed it had met with Terawatt, said no plans or permits had been submitted, and moved a draft data center ordinance forward. A Change.org petition went up Sept. 9. On Sept. 24 the Blair County Planning Commission found the township's 20-page amendment consistent with the county plan, and that evening state Reps. Scott Barger and Andrea Verobish held a data center information session that drew about 250 people. Supervisors toured the site with company representatives before their Oct. 5 meeting. On Oct. 8 about 200 people filled the Friendship Fire Co. hall for the public hearing; all speakers opposed the project and no vote was taken. The township then advertised an Oct. 22 special meeting to consider enacting the amendment.

Update, October 26, 2026. On October 22, 2026 the Taylor Township supervisors unanimously approved an amended subdivision and land development ordinance with data center rules at a special 11 a.m. meeting, after more than a dozen residents spoke against the project and said the rules don't go far enough. Chairman Jerome Dodson said the township hadn't received any plans and that the board would keep amending the ordinance.

What is at stake

Impacts raised and open questions

Noise and vibration

High

The township Q&A says the center would run at about 70 decibels and never exceed 100, and Supervisors Chairman Jerome Dodson says the company would use insulation, sound barriers and berms.

Altoona Mirror

Noise and vibration

High

A Penn State acoustics faculty member, speaking as a private citizen, warned that low-frequency data center noise penetrates walls and glass and could be heard at Conemaugh Nason hospital, Spring Cove schools and a church across Route 164, and he urged the township to hire its own acoustic specialist.

Altoona Mirror

Air quality

Medium

The township Q&A says the developer proposes 80 backup generators equipped with scrubbers and sound attenuation.

Altoona Mirror

Water

Medium

The township says a closed-loop cooling system would use about 10,000 to 15,000 gallons a day, far less than the 5.5 million gallons a day the mill used.

Altoona Mirror

Water

Medium

Blair County Planning Commission member Rodney Green raised concerns about how cooling water would be handled because Halter Creek, a Class A trout stream, runs through the area.

Altoona Mirror

Energy costs and the grid

Medium

Valley Rural Electric Cooperative told the township that FirstEnergy is running a load study for the site and that the data center would pay 100% of the generation and transmission costs it creates, so rates for Valley's 22,800 members wouldn't rise.

Morrisons Cove Herald

Energy costs and the grid

Medium

The township Q&A says Terawatt will pay for all transmission upgrades and on-site substation construction.

Altoona Mirror

Property values

Medium

Several residents near the mill site told supervisors at the Oct. 8 hearing they fear the project will drag down the value of homes and farmland they recently bought.

Altoona Mirror

Visual and light

Medium

Blair County Planning Commission member Rodney Green said activity at the woodyard already brought noise and light close to a neighborhood, raised concern about light pollution, and asked for more specific lighting rules in the draft ordinance.

Altoona Mirror

Jobs and tax claims

Low

Supervisors Chairman Jerome Dodson says the center would have about 50 permanent jobs, most of them in security.

Altoona Mirror
Community response

Who is organizing against it

Indivisible Blair County

Blair County

Leaders: Carol Taylor, president

Tactics: Public testimony at township hearings

Its president, an Altoona attorney, said at the Oct. 8 hearing she was speaking for 1,300 people and argued the draft ordinance lacks enforcement teeth.

Roaring Spring-area residents' petition against the data center

Roaring Spring and Taylor Township · 2,300 signatures

Tactics: Petition presented to supervisors; calls for a 1,000-foot setback from homes in place of the proposed 500 feet

Presented at the Oct. 8, 2026 hearing with about 2,300 signatures, according to the Altoona Mirror and Morrisons Cove Herald.

Change.org petition for full transparency before any Taylor Township approval

Taylor Township · Founded 2026-09-09 · 187 signatures

Tactics: Online petition to the Board of Supervisors

Asks for an independent environmental and noise study, a public hearing before any permit, and binding enforcement terms including shutdown provisions. 187 signatures when checked Oct. 18, 2026.

Petition

Timeline

How it has unfolded

  • 2021-07-23A new company backed by Big Shoulders Capital, Capital Recovery Group, Rabin Worldwide and Calbag Metals closes on the closed Appvion paper mill. PaperAge
  • 2025-04-23Under new ownership, the mill owners say they'll finish demolition and prepare the roughly 350-acre tract for industrial uses. Altoona Mirror
  • 2026-05-14Residents raise rumors of a data center at the mill site; the council president and the property owner had denied any plan. Morrisons Cove Herald
  • 2026-08-13Residents ask about nondisclosure agreements; the council president says no council member has signed one or been approached. Morrisons Cove Herald
  • 2026-09-08Supervisors confirm they met with Terawatt, say no plans or permits have been filed, and move a draft data center ordinance to county review. Altoona Mirror
  • 2026-09-09A Change.org petition demands an independent impact study and binding enforcement terms before any approval. Change.org
  • 2026-09-24The county planning commission finds Taylor Township's 20-page data center amendment consistent with the county comprehensive plan. Altoona Mirror
  • 2026-09-24About 250 people attend a data center information session at the Blair County Convention Center, many because of the Roaring Spring proposal. WPSU
  • 2026-10-05Supervisors report touring the proposed site behind the old mill with company representatives and confirm the Oct. 8 hearing. Morrisons Cove Herald
  • 2026-10-07In a debate, Shapiro says a data center won't be built in a community that doesn't want it, a line residents quote at the hearing the next night. Altoona Mirror
  • 2026-10-08About 200 people attend the public hearing on the data center amendment; every speaker opposes the project and no vote is taken. Altoona Mirror
  • 2026-10-12Shapiro's spokeswoman says the governor did not misspeak and that his executive order ties state permits to local support. Altoona Mirror
  • 2026-10-22Scheduled special meeting at 11 a.m. to consider enacting the data center amendment. Taylor Township, Blair County
  • 2026-10-22Supervisors unanimously approve the data center amendment to the subdivision and land development ordinance, including a 50 decibel sound limit and a 300-foot minimum distance from existing structures, after more than a dozen residents speak against the project. Altoona Mirror
  • 2026-10-22The Morrisons Cove Herald reports that Roaring Spring Borough's solicitor is drafting a local ordinance using a Montgomery County data center ordinance as a model. Morrisons Cove Herald
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 →