It’s not just data centers. New power lines for AI are also stirring local anger and turned one man’s 40 acres of paradise into ‘hell’

For John Zola, the 40 acres were like a paradise: apple orchards tucked into northern Pennsylvania’s rolling hills, a barn, meadows and more than enough land for four houses: one for himself and his wife and each of his three adult children.

It’s been “hell,” however, since a contractor hired by the local power utility knocked on Zola’s door in late 2024 and informed him that it planned to build a 500-kilovolt power line through his property.

The 240-foot metal towers would...