• Order aimed at curbing speculative projects, shifting more control to communities
• State utility officials say EO is the next step promised by state after creating its large load tariff

Pennsylvania Governor Joshua Shapiro has signed an executive order (EO) that he called “the strictest guardrails in the nation” on data centers and removed all data center proposals from the state’s fast-track permitting program.

The EO imposes stricter requirements on data center developers and seeks to block speculative projects to give local communities more decision-making power, Shapiro said during a press briefing on August 18.

This EO not only removed all fast-tracked projects from the state’s special permitting program but also disqualifies any future data center proposal from entering the program. It also bans non-disclosure agreements and practices that shield company names and planned energy sources from public view, according to Shapiro.

“We have seen an unacceptable number of speculative proposals for data center development that are swamping our commonwealth — many of them led by developers who have no regard for local communities,” he said.

The Guardrails

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary Jessica Shirley said the order launches DEP’s new data center permit tracker, along with a data center planning toolkit for local governments.

She explained that data center projects touch multiple programs that DEP oversees, from stormwater and erosion control to sewage planning, safe drinking water, and storage tanks. As a result, developers will now be required to show all local permit approvals before her department reviews any environmental permits.

“Data center developers will have their permits reviewed but not issued until all local land use approvals are in hand,” she said. “If a developer chooses not to follow the requirements, DEP will not even review their permit applications until all local land use approvals are granted.”

She added that those permits will also not be sequenced or issued when their reviews are completed, but rather developers will receive permits once all necessary environmental permits are complete and will be packaged together and issued at the same time.

In March, Shapiro announced legislation that establishes the Governor’s Responsible Infrastructure Development (GRID) Standards. He said the EO imposes those GRID standards, which he saw as necessary after the legislation stalled in the Pennsylvania Senate, despite bipartisan support from the state’s House of Representatives.

Under those standards, developers are expected to bring their own power and pay for all costs associated with that capacity and must get an “increasingly significant portion of that power from clean energy sources like solar, advanced nuclear, and battery storage.”

Developers will be asked to sign a consent order, which Shapiro described as a “legally binding” document that locks developers into GRID requirements and sets strict penalties if they fail to comply.

“Today, there are reports of more than 100 data center proposals under discussion here in our commonwealth,” he said. “Most of those proposals are completely speculative, and many of them haven’t even taken the formal steps to apply to the Commonwealth, and they’ll never be built.”

He added that they “lack detailed plans. They have insufficient financing. They don’t have access to electricity that they actually need to build these data centers. They have no agreements with tech companies to use the space should it be built.”

Data Center Landscape

He said there are no AI data centers up and running in Pennsylvania, but five have acquired the permits to build.

NPM data shows 59 data center applications in the state, with 37 planned, 19 operational, and two under construction.

Shapiro called out some projects for disproportionately targeting small towns and for alleged unprofessional behavior toward localities. Shapiro named the data center campuses that have been proposed for the Town of Archbald, a community in Lackawanna County. He said six data center campuses with “51 giant warehouses” have been proposed there, intruding on local parks and neighborhoods in the 17-square-mile community.

NPM data shows three proposed facilities in Lackawanna County, which include the PDC Archbald Data & Energy Center developed by PDC Realty, the Gouldsboro Data Center Campus and the Scranton/Carbondale Highway Data Center Campus, both of which require 1,500 MW of capacity.

During his public comments, the governor called out another project for alleged “aggressive, predatory behavior” in Montgomery County, “where one developer is trying to bully his way into forcing data center projects through local opposition.”

“Instead of actually respecting those residents, of listening to them, of understanding their concerns and trying to work with them, the developer instead is trying to sue his way into building those data centers,” the governor said.

Local media reports point to MLP Ventures CEO Brian O’Neill suing Upper Merion officials over delayed action on his proposed data center project.

NPM reported O’Neill’s plans to build 14 data centers, totaling about 4.6 million square feet with on-site natural gas generation across 267 acres. Upper Merion officials approved an ordinance in March to regulate data center development, setting requirements for sound barriers, cooling systems, and documentation to support proposed electricity and water use.

“I’m a ‘hell no’ on that project. I’m a ‘hell no’ on many other projects across Pennsylvania, and they will not happen on my watch,” the governor said. “Archbald and Mont-Co, well, they’re just two examples of the dozens of communities across Pennsylvania who are being overrun and overwhelmed by developers who don’t give a damn about us and think that they can have their way. Well, today I am formally putting them on notice.”

Shapiro did not go as far as supporting local moratoriums on data centers but said that if companies aren’t interested in following Pennsylvania’s new rules for development, “they should look elsewhere to do business.”

The EO garnered support from the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission (PUC) as well.

PUC Chairman Stephen DeFrank spoke at the briefing, where he said this executive action is the next step that the state promised after creating its large load tariff earlier this year.

He said decreasing the number of speculative projects was critical to its reporting to PJM to control electricity pricing. DeFrank also highlighted Pennsylvania’s use of natural gas and Shapiro’s calls for more clean energy usage in data center buildouts.

“As I said, we’re transforming our grid, and we have to get this right because if we don’t get this right now, it’s going to be much more difficult to recoup some of those costs that are being paid,” DeFrank said. “Economic development and consumer protection are not competing goals — they’re complementary goals, and our responsibility is to make sure we create a framework that delivers both.”