Project Gold (Clifton Township, Gouldsboro)
Also called: 1778 Rich Pike LLC, JCO LLC, Gouldsboro data center campus
This was once nearly three dozen data centers along I-380 in Clifton and Covington townships. A court-approved settlement cut it to five very large buildings in Clifton Township, with well water capped at 50,000 gallons a day and no on-site power plant. Residents are fighting the settlement.
Where things stand: Township settled with the developer Jan. 2, 2026 and a judge approved it Jan. 5. Five buildings allowed without conditional use. Residents challenged the settlement.
🕒 Latest update (Aug 20, 2026): Judge ruled the township's old data center zoning law void; the settlement stays in effect.
Clifton Township Board of Supervisors. Anyone can come and speak.
What we know
- 📍 WhereAlong Interstate 380 north of Clifton Beach Road, near Gouldsboro, Clifton Township, Lackawanna County
- 🏢 Company1778 Rich Pike LLC and JCO LLC
- 🏛️ Owned byQuantm Group LLC listed as development partner
- 🌳 Size1,000 acres
- 🔌 Where the power comes fromGrid power through a planned 400-megawatt customer substation and 230-kilovolt switchyard. Developer gave up plans for an on-site small nuclear reactor or gas plant.
- 💧 WaterOn-site wells · 50,000 gallons a day
❓ Still unanswered
Nobody has answered these in public yet. Can you help find out?
- How many megawatts will the campus use in total? 🙋 I'll find out
- Who is the end user? 🙋 I'll find out
- Will new high-voltage power lines be needed? 🙋 I'll find out
- What happened to the Covington Township part of the plan? 🙋 I'll find out
- What is the status of residents' challenge to the settlement? 🙋 I'll find out
What happened so far
- 2025Original plan: up to 35 buildings, 1.5 gigawatts, about 1,000 acres on both sides of I-380, with a gas power plant; estimated $14.25 billion.
- April 17, 2025Developer challenged the township's zoning.
- May 22, 2025Township made data centers a conditional use.
- Nov 19, 2025Zoning board denied the developer's challenge; developer appealed Dec. 1.
- Jan 2, 2026Supervisors unanimously approved a settlement; judge approved it Jan. 5.
- Aug 20, 2026Judge ruled the township's old data center zoning law void; the settlement stays in effect.
Local votes and rules
⚖️ Court case
A Lackawanna County judge voided Clifton Township's data center zoning after challenges from the Project Gold developer. The township is now working on new data center rules.
📜 Data center rules
After the court ruling, Clifton Township is drafting new data center rules. The draft includes a 100-foot buffer, a limit that kicks in for heavy water use, and a plan for removing buildings when a data center closes. Residents asked for bigger buffers and a 35-foot height limit.
🤝 Agreement with the company
Clifton Township supervisors unanimously approved a legal settlement with the Project Gold developer. It allows five two-story data center buildings on three sites along Route 380. More than 100 residents came to oppose it, and some promised to sue.
⚖️ Court case
The Project Gold developer, 1778 Rich Pike LLC, appealed the zoning board's ruling to county court. It argued the township's rules really did block data centers. In August 2026 a county judge voided the township's data center zoning.
📌 Other
Clifton Township's zoning board unanimously ruled that the township's data center rules were legal and did not unfairly shut out data centers. This rejected a challenge from the Project Gold developer.
✋ Turned down
Clifton Township supervisors voted 2-1 against a legal settlement with the developer of Project Gold, a planned campus of about 30 data center buildings. The deal would have allowed two data center buildings in residential areas.
📜 Data center rules
Clifton Township supervisors adopted data center zoning rules after a developer claimed the township's zoning left no room for data centers. The developer said the new rules were too strict. A county judge voided the township's data center zoning in August 2026.
Drag the slider to compare the land before and now.
Where this comes from
- Clifton Twp. to consider settlement with data center developer · The Times-Tribune (via Yahoo News) · Jan 1, 2026
- Clifton Twp. supervisors settle with data center developer; residents promise litigation · WVIA · Jan 3, 2026
- Lackawanna County judge voids Clifton Twp.'s data center zoning as residents provide feedback for updated legislation · WVIA · Aug 21, 2026
- 1.5GW data center campus proposed in Pennsylvania · DatacenterDynamics · 2025
- Data centers as 2025 newsmaker of the year · The Times-Tribune (via Yahoo News) · Dec 28, 2025
- PA DEP Data Center Permit Tracker · Pennsylvania DEP · Oct 6, 2026
- Clifton Township home page (monthly meeting third Thursday 7:00 pm) · Clifton Township · Oct 6, 2026
See something wrong? Tell us and we'll fix it.