A hyperscale data center Centralia mine fire in every abandoned coal mine?
No. Just no.
Just stop with the data centers in coal mines idea, people. It’s even more foolish than the data centers in space thing.
Headline screenshot: WSJ Opinion. Abandoned Mines Can Become Data Centers. Instead of placing data centers on valuable farmland they could be located on reclaimed sites throughout the Appalachian coal fields. Headline screenshot: The Times-Tribune. Mitten testified each data center would have as many as 41 backup generators, totaling 574 diesel generators across 14 buildings. Each 3-megawatt generator would have its own 2,000-gallon diesel fuel tank, Mitten said, explaining they need the capacity to run 24 hours. That translates to 1,148,000 gallons of diesel fuel stored on site across 574 2,000-gallon tanks. Written in marker handwriting in the margin: Have you heard of Centralia?
“Blame the state, they said we have to have at least one data center in each town if they come here,” – Archbald Councilman Louis Rapoch. (March 10, 2026 WNEP)
No, some towns simply shouldn’t have data centers because the risks and impacts are simply too bad. Subsidence risks, toxic gas migration, coal waste, and big piles of accelerants seem like an especially bad mix.
I’m not reading that Wall Street Journal op-ed because the premise is so utterly bad, I don’t want to expose myself to any more nonsense. But The Times-Tribune article quotes townspeople of Archbald and one who brought up Centralia specifically saying: “Are you familiar with Centralia, Pennsylvania?” Centralia is the borough where a mine fire has been burning since 1962, and is expected to do so for the next two centuries.
And both Donald Trump and Josh Shapiro are insisting that these data centers be power plants with on-site fuel so this isn’t just one data center project that’s going to have a bunch of fuel, supposedly most will have even more flammables on site.
Reuters. Trump says he has told big tech companies to build their own power plants. February 24, 2026
WHYY News Climate Desk PA Governor Josh Shapiro wants more data centers but they need to bring their own power.
You can’t have it both ways. But this point I’m waiting for some tech tycoon galaxy brain or bought off politician to suggest the abandoned coal mines get reopened. History is littered with not just coal mines on fire, but rivers on fire, because of industry actors who fail to consider things like physical realities and risks to humans when setting out on ventures for the benefit of a few fancy people.
And no, space isn’t the answer either.
New data centers, what are they for? Speculation on a bizarre & flawed futurism. Chloe Humbert Jan 25, 2026 And just pass on the galaxy brain spaceship idea about putting the data centers in space, that isn’t some happy solution, and if you don’t know why it isn’t, just look into why your coffee thermos keeps your coffee warm. Here’s a hint, they’re called vacuum flasks.