Shapiro: PA Communities Can Say ‘No’ to Bad Data Center Projects
Governor Josh Shapiro has signed an executive order in Pennsylvania, empowering local communities to reject data center projects. This order aims to prevent developers from disregarding environmental protections, driving up utility bills, or ignoring local concerns. It establishes strict guardrails for data center development in the state.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro announced an executive order designed to give local communities more power in decisions regarding data center development. The Governor stated that this order enables residents to weigh in on and potentially say no to projects that do not align with their concerns.
Shapiro emphasized that developers will not be allowed to "bully" Pennsylvanians, nor will they be permitted to disregard constitutional rights to clean air and pure water, or drive up utility bills. He put data center developers "on notice," asserting that they must now comply with what he described as the "strictest guardrails in the nation" for data center development.