Pennsylvania governor signs order imposing new rules to set up AI data centers in state
The order requires local approval, bans nondisclosure agreements and makes developers pay their own power costs as more than 100 proposals are under review.
- Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro signed Executive Order 2026-05, establishing new rules and guardrails for data center development across the state.
- The order directs the Department of Environmental Protection to process state permit applications only if developers sign legally binding commitments to meet the Governor's Responsible Infrastructure Development standards and obtain prior approval from local municipal governments.
- Under the new rules, developers must cover all electricity generation, grid transmission, and utility infrastructure costs required for their facilities to prevent increased energy bills for local residents and businesses.
- The executive order immediately excludes all artificial intelligence data center proposals from Pennsylvania's fast-track permitting program, prohibiting expedited state-level reviews for these projects.
- Data center developers are strictly barred from using non-disclosure agreements with local municipalities and are required to publicly report detailed energy and water consumption data.
120 Articles
120 Articles
Will Shapiro’s data center order impact Pa. Senate races?
With data centers becoming increasingly unpopular among Pennsylvania residents, Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) turned the tables on state Senate Republicans ahead of the upcoming midterm elections by signing an executive order restricting data center development. Shapiro touted the executive order as one of the strictest actions regulating data center development in the country. The order puts his previously announced Governor’s Responsible Infrastructur…
Republican says data center speculation targeted by Shapiro is a ‘huge problem’ - Regional Media News
(The Center Square) - It is roughly 700 acres of beautiful, forested land in the Pocono Mountains, and in Rep. Doyle Heffley's mind it is the last place people would want to see the construction of a data center. But that is exactly the concept being floated by a developer in Penn Forest Township, Carbon County. To Heffley, it is the sort of proposal that Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro was talking about Tuesday when he signed an executive order se…
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WFMZRepublican says data center speculation targeted by Shapiro is a 'huge problem'
(The Center Square) - It is roughly 700 acres of beautiful, forested land in the Pocono Mountains, and in Rep. Doyle Heffley's mind it is the last place people would want to see the construction of a data center.
Josh Shapiro redefines Pennsylvania’s tech boom
HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania — In June 2025, Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) stood in Berwick and described a new economic horizon for Pennsylvania: Amazon’s plan to invest at least $20 billion in cloud-computing and artificial intelligence campuses across the commonwealth. “Pennsylvania is competing again — and I’m proud to announce that, with Amazon’s commitment of at least $20 billion to build new state-of-the-art data center campuses across our Commonw…
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