Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) on Friday launched a website for Pennsylvania residents to provide his office with feedback about data centers.
The governor said the website would provide a mechanism to help him “stop bad-faith developers who try to bully their way into our communities with no regulation or oversight,” by giving residents a place to name concerns about data center projects in their area.
“This week, I enacted the strictest requirements IN THE NATION for AI data centers … but now I need your help,” the governor wrote in a post to X, referring to his recent executive order aimed at sharply limiting data centers in Pennsylvania.
“Your feedback — in person, over text, in my comment section — helped inform the Executive Order I signed this week that will block bad projects if the local community doesn’t want them,” Shapiro continued. “And your voice will help us stop bad-faith developers who try to bully their way into our communities with no regulation or oversight.”
Pennsylvania is ranked among the top 15 states with the most data centers. The developments power the technology grid, including artificial intelligence, but have encountered increasing backlash over accusations that they drain resources and infringe on local communities.
Amid rising scrutiny, a stream of red and blue states have taken actions to push for data center reform by mandating moratoriums, revoking tax breaks, and demanding that facilities provide their own energy supply and reuse water, among other changes.
In Pennsylvania, data centers have been eligible for a fast-tracked permitting process when in compliance with Shapiro’s GRID standards.
But that changed on Tuesday, when the governor signed an order imposing significant restrictions on data centers. The order eliminated fast-tracked data center permit approvals. Data centers must still comply with the GRID regulations under the new executive order, and they must also be permitted by the state’s Department of Environmental Protection.
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In addition, the order allows the state to block data center approvals if local officials aren’t on board with projects. If local municipalities do approve of the projects, the developers must negotiate a community benefits agreement, according to the order.
“If these companies want to do business here, they need to comply with the strictest guardrails in the nation on data center development, starting today,” Shapiro said. “Otherwise, they’ll have to go somewhere else.”