Civil Municipal Magazine Aug 2023

103 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 4, ISSUE 8 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE Diversifying the Economy: Opportunities and Advantages in Greene County, PA Residents and leaders recognize the need to diversify the economy in Greene County to be sustainable for the future. Although the community has embraced the energy and extraction industry for more than 120 years, Green County Chairman and Commissioner Mike Belding admits, “It’s no secret that that is on the decline.” Instead, the county is seeking out new opportunities which will continue to bring prosperity while enriching the quality of life amenities for residents and visitors. “We’re open to literally anything that can be GREENE COUNT Y, PENNSYLVANIA brought into a county to spur on economic growth: one-off niche markets, unique production opportunities, manufacturing, we’re open to all those kinds of discussions and ideas. It doesn’t have to be mainstream, what everybody thinks would happen in either Appalachia or the east coast of the country. We’re open to all kinds of unique opportunities for consideration.” Belding acknowledges that energy production is not off the table for Greene County, although a new direction is key. “Things like data centers, and the cloud, everybody thinks that’s a virtual space, but in actuality, somewhere that exists on the ground, and it’s housed in large data storage areas,” he remarks.