Pennsylvania Governor Shapiro enacts data center regulations, lawmakers urged to develop comprehensive plan
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro issued an executive order imposing environmental, economic, and transparency requirements on data center projects to address energy and water supply concerns. While a positive first step, an editorial argues for stronger measures, including a complete pause on development and a comprehensive legislative plan to expand clean energy and protect residents from rising utility costs.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has issued a sweeping executive order aimed at regulating the burgeoning data center development boom across the state. The directive, which mandates environmental, economic, and transparency requirements for all new data center projects, marks a significant shift from the governor's previous stance, which had embraced high-tech investment.
The order, dubbed the "Governor’s Responsible Infrastructure Development benchmarks," requires data centers to adhere to standards including water conservation, providing their own electricity generation or covering increased usage costs, and entering community benefit agreements to hire local employees and invest in infrastructure. The editorial praises Shapiro for listening to constituents but argues that these measures, while improvements, do not go far enough to curb looming challenges to the state’s energy and water supply.
The Inquirer editorial highlights ongoing concerns about the impact of data centers on the power grid and water resources, citing increased electric bills for residents and warnings of potential blackouts from electric executives. It also points to the controversial plan to restart the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor to power Microsoft's AI data centers. The editorial criticizes lucrative tax breaks for data center developers, noting that the state House voted to repeal these breaks, but the measure stalled in the Republican-controlled Senate.
Ultimately, the editorial calls for Pennsylvania lawmakers to develop a comprehensive plan to expand clean energy, offset power demands, and ensure constitutional environmental guarantees before further data center development. It suggests that a temporary pause on development is the most sensible approach until such a plan is in place, cautioning against a fragmented regulatory landscape and the potential for poorer towns to be exploited by developers.