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Capital & Main
Capital & Main
Audrey Carleton

Will an Old Pennsylvania Coal Town Get a Reboot From AI?

The Homer City Generating Station in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, pictured in 2023. It was decommissioned that year and its signature smokestacks were toppled in 2025. All photos by Audrey Carleton.

As the September evening inched along, the line of residents waiting their turn for the microphone held steady. Filing down the auditorium aisles at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, they were armed with questions about a new gas plant slated for their community.

Sitting quietly in the audience was John Dudash. For decades he’s lived in Homer City, a southwestern Pennsylvania town that was once home to the largest coal-fired power plant in the state. The plant, which shares its name with the town, closed nearly three years ago after years of financial distress.

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