Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro Signs Executive Order Imposing New Conditions on Data Center Projects
The Facts
- Gov. Josh Shapiro signed Executive Order 2026-05 on data center development Tuesday in Harrisburg.
- The order implements Shapiro's Governor's Responsible Infrastructure Development, or GRID, requirements.
- Data center developers must obtain local community approval before the state considers their permit applications.
- The order removes current and future data center projects from Pennsylvania's fast-track permitting program.
- Developers must pay all electricity costs associated with their facilities.
- The Department of Environmental Protection will review applications only from developers making legally enforceable GRID commitments.
- The order does not impose a moratorium on data center construction, unlike measures in some other states.
- Shapiro previously promoted data center growth, including a $20 billion Amazon commitment for Bucks and Luzerne counties.
- Shapiro said GRID standards passed the Democratic-controlled state House in June but were not voted on in the Republican-controlled Senate.
- Shapiro's office says more than 100 data center proposals have been submitted in Pennsylvania.
- Shapiro is a first-term Democrat seeking reelection and is discussed as a potential 2028 presidential candidate.
Context
What do the GRID requirements actually require of developers?
GRID sets standards in five areas: energy affordability, community engagement, economic and workforce development, transparency, and environmental protection infobae,WGAL 8 Lancaster/Ha…. In practice, developers must pay their own energy and infrastructure costs, source a portion of power from clean energy, limit noise, air pollution and water use, hire local workers, and negotiate community benefit agreements Newsweek,CBS News,WKBN. Shapiro said developers will also be barred from using non-disclosure agreements with communities news.bloomberglaw.c….
What happens to developers who do not comply?
The Department of Environmental Protection will hold permits for developers who refuse the commitments until they obtain local approval, and non-complying developers lose access to an existing state sales tax exemption Axios,Cadena 3 Argentina. Shapiro said at the signing that developers who do not follow GRID should "look elsewhere" HuffPost.
How does this fit into what other states are doing?
Pennsylvania joins several states moving to limit data center construction, with a bipartisan group of governors tightening rules as opposition grows over energy use, water consumption and loss of open space WSJ,Philadelphia Inquir…,TribLIVE. The Associated Press reported that data center policy is becoming an issue in gubernatorial races ahead of the midterm elections Clarin.
What is unresolved?
Business Insider reported it is unclear what the order means for Amazon's planned $20 billion data center investment, which had been approved under the fast-track program the order now closes to data centers Business Insider,Hill. Shapiro also said only five data centers in the state currently hold the permits needed to begin operating Business Insider.
Where Left and Right agree, and where they split
Left and right largely agree on this one.
- Where Left and Right agree
- Both back the order's core: developers pay their full electricity costs, win local approval first, and lose fast-track access — and both doubt it will hold.
- Where Left and Right differ in emphasis
- Both endorse the same terms; one to stop households absorbing another's server farm costs, the other because full-cost pricing and local judgment are how markets should work.
How left and right read it
The burden of proof belongs on developers, not on the households whose power bills and water absorb the costs of somebody else's server farm. That is why requiring local community approval first, pulling these projects out of fast-track review, and making developers pay all electricity costs associated with their facilities matters: it moves the presumption. But the same governor moved a $20 billion Amazon commitment through that very fast track, so the enforceable part is the whole test.
“Shapiro's prior actions around data centers would seem to belie that tough talk.” — HuffPost
No one is owed cheap power at someone else's expense. Making developers pay the full electricity costs of their facilities is the price signal doing its work, and requiring local approval before the state reviews permits puts that judgment with the people who live with it rather than a fast-track lane these projects are pulled out of. Yet standards that never cleared the legislature rest on one signature — write them into law.
“The executive action comes after the Democratic governor introduced the GRID Requirements in his most recent budget address to manage the rapid growth of data centers. The standards, however, did not fully pass the state legislature.” — Washington Examiner
The receipts — all 66 sources
Wire services (4)
Independent coverage (50)
Facts first. Then every angle.
The day’s biggest stories in one short brief — the facts everyone agrees on, then the competing values behind the headlines. Free in your inbox.