Harrisburg, PA – Today, Governor Josh Shapiro delivered remarks before signing an executive order to implement the Governor's Responsible Infrastructure Development (GRID) Requirements, block speculative, irresponsible data center projects from moving forward, give local communities more power over data center development, and protect Pennsylvania residents.
See below for the Governor’s remarks as prepared for delivery:
Good afternoon.
Thank you for joining us.
We’re here to talk about data centers – and the executive action I am taking today to put strict guardrails on proposed projects, rein in data center developers who are trying to run over local communities, and protect Pennsylvanians from higher costs.
It is important to take an honest look at how quickly data center development has moved in the past year.
This technology is moving rapidly.
Last summer, I announced two projects that will bring thousands of new jobs and $20 billion in new investment to Pennsylvania in Salem Township, Luzerne County, and Falls Township, Bucks County.
Since then, we’ve seen an unacceptable number of speculative proposals for data centers swamp our Commonwealth – many of them led by developers who have no regard for local communities.
Local leaders like Hampden Township Commissioner John Michael Smith and Dave Sanko, the President of PSATS – who join us here today – know this reality firsthand, as do thousands of local officials across the Commonwealth.
Today, there are reports of more than 100 data center proposals under discussion in Pennsylvania.
Most of those proposals are completely speculative, and many of them haven’t taken any formal steps to apply to the Commonwealth and will never be built.
They lack detailed plans, have insufficient financing, don’t have access to the electricity they actually need to build these centers, and have no agreement with a tech company to use the space once its built.
While there are no AI data centers up-and-running right now in Pennsylvania, and only five have the permits they would need to begin operating…
These speculators are nevertheless scaring our communities – being aggressive with township officials, bullying our neighbors, and refusing to listen to the people of Pennsylvania.
And they’re threatening to fundamentally change the character of our communities.
As your Governor, it is my job to listen and use my authority to accomplish things for the people of Pennsylvania — and I have.
Earlier this year in my budget address, I introduced my GRID Requirements – strict protections that require data centers to bring their own power and pay for all the costs associated with that electricity, be transparent with the local community, hire local workers and provide benefits to the local community, and protect our air and water.
The House passed the GRID Requirements as legislation on a bipartisan basis to put those standards in place. The Senate has refused to even bring it up for a vote.
In fact, the Senate Majority Leader even said he had no intention of taking action to regulate data center development.
The absence of legislative approval has left me with no other option but to protect the people of Pennsylvania by taking executive action to put the strictest guardrails in the nation in place to stop the predatory developers and bad proposals.
Because I’ve heard loud and clear from the people of Pennsylvania as I’ve traveled our Commonwealth, and I’m here to say that we will not be bullied by developers and bulldozed by the lawyers working for these big tech companies.
We have a long history in Pennsylvania of industry running roughshod over our communities to make a buck – that stops with me.
I went to Archbald in Lackawanna County earlier this year, and listened to neighbors talk about where 6 data center campuses made up of 51 giant warehouses have been proposed in a single borough of 7,500 people that’s only 17 square miles.
I sat in Representative Mullins’ office and listened to concerned residents, and I walked the left field line at Eddy Staback Park to see where this developer wanted to build right on top of their playing fields.
Archbald is one of many communities experiencing this.
We’re also seeing it where I’m from in Montgomery County – where one developer is trying to bully his way into forcing data center projects through local opposition from the community and local officials.
Instead of respecting those residents, listening to them, and trying to work with them, that developer is attempting to sue his way into building these data centers.
And he is creating this chaos and stoking fear in the community, even though he has no realistic path to getting power at the sites any time soon.
Here’s something else he has no realistic path to getting: my support.
This is an example of one of the many projects that I’m a hell no on — and they won’t happen on my watch.
Archbald and Montco are just two examples of dozens of communities being overrun and overwhelmed by developers who don’t give a damn about us and think they can have their way.
Today, I’m formally putting them on notice.
In a few moments, I will sign an Executive Order to put in place the nation’s strictest guardrails on AI data centers –
Guardrails that will hold greedy developers accountable, stop bad projects, and put more power back in the hands of local communities.
Starting today, AI data center developers who want to do business in our Commonwealth must respect our communities and abide by these stringent requirements.
And if they can’t agree to that, they should stop considering Pennsylvania.
I want to be clear: these are not voluntary standards – they are legally-binding requirements to operate here in the Commonwealth.
Here’s how it will work:
First, developers will be required to provide a notice of intent to comply with GRID.
Second, they’ll be required to present their detailed plans to DEP, who will scrutinize them to ensure they’re sufficient.
And third, these developers must sign a legally binding consent order locking them into the GRID Requirements and setting penalties if they fail to comply.
Let me remind you what those requirements are:
First, developers must bring their own power and pay for all the costs associated with that electricity. They will not be permitted to saddle homeowners and businesses with added costs because of their development.
And they must get an increasingly significant portion of that power from clean energy sources like solar, advanced nuclear, and battery storage.
That’s something you’ll hear more about from Dawone Robinson, the Managing Director of NRDC, in just a moment.
Second, they must respect our local communities by being transparent, hiring locally, and offering a robust community benefits agreement.
They also need to earn legal approval at the local level.
Let me put it succinctly: if the local community doesn’t approve a project, the state won’t approve it either.
And third, developers must meet the constitutional obligation under Article 1, Section 27 to protect our clean air and pure water in this Commonwealth by committing to the highest standards of environmental protection.
If a developer refuses to comply with those requirements, they will have no pathway of getting the necessary approvals needed to build a data center in Pennsylvania.
And they will be disqualified from receiving the existing exemption on sales tax on data center equipment that was put in place two years before I was elected your governor.
These are the wealthiest companies in the world – they shouldn’t get a tax break for gouging our communities.
This Executive Order takes additional steps beyond making our GRID Requirements legally enforceable.
Effective immediately, I am removing all data centers from the Fast Track permitting program – and this executive order makes any future data center project ineligible for Fast Track.
One thing that has become clear to me from listening to Pennsylvanians – while Fast Track permitting has proven to be an incredible asset in helping us land major economic development projects like Eli Lilly’s investment in the Lehigh Valley and the Bellwether district in Philly, it’s not right for this kind of development.
The feedback I’ve gotten from people in their communities has shaped my perspective on this.
And while curtailing the speed of these projects is important, ending the secrecy is as well.
Too often, developers refuse to give even basic info with neighbors — like which tech company will occupy the AI data center or where the power will come from. That practice ends today.
In this Executive Order, I’m making clear that nondisclosure agreements will not be permissible for data center projects.
It is important that developers understand they need to be open on every detail with the community.
And if they won’t be, they’re not welcome to do business in Pennsylvania.
Additionally, I’m directing my new Special Counsel on Energy Affordability to engage with the Pennsylvania Utility Commission and help establish rules and procedures that ensure Pennsylvanians are protected from the demand data centers put on the energy grid.
Patrick Cicero and I worked together to protect Pennsylvania consumers when I was Attorney General – and I’m proud he’s standing with us today.
Specifically, we’re going to ensure that any infrastructure costs caused by data centers are paid by the AI data centers – not Pennsylvania homeowners or business owners – even if a data center ultimately closes and can’t pay.
No one’s utility bill should go up because these wealthy companies don’t pay their fair share. They should pay for every penny of electricity they need.
And if an emergency strikes, and energy demand is higher than what the grid can supply – data centers are the ones who get cut off first, not our grandmoms and grandpops living in their homes.
You’ll hear more about this from PUC Chairman DeFrank, who I’m pleased joins us today and I’m proud is here to endorse this executive order.
Taken together, these steps will effectively block objectionable, unwarranted, and costly projects from moving forward.
I’m using the full weight of my executive authority to put in place immediate protections for the people of Pennsylvania against bad faith developers of AI data center projects.
To the Pennsylvanians who have taken the time to talk to me in your communities, at rest stops, at coffee shops, on walking trails, and at ball games…
Who have texted me and shared your comments online…
…I want to say that I hear you and I thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and concerns.
You want the right to weigh in on decisions about what your community looks like going forward.
About the kind of place you want to raise your kids.
You want the right to say no to bad projects and developers who don’t address your concerns, raise your utility costs, and pollute your resources.
Today, with this Executive Order, I’m putting these developers on notice and letting them know that we will not let them bully Pennsylvanians, disregard our constitutional right to clean air and pure water, or drive up our utility bills.
We’ve had enough here in Pennsylvania – and I’m not going to let it happen on my watch.
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.
Otherwise, they’ll have to go somewhere else.
Thank you.