Governor of Pennsylvania Issued Executive Order — the order can be found at:

"Governor Shapiro's Remarks as Prepared for Delivery at the Signing Ceremony for an Executive Order on Data Center Development in Pennsylvania"

Governor of Pennsylvania announces executive order imposing the nation's strictest guardrails on AI data center development. The governor highlights a surge of more than 100 mostly speculative data center proposals that lack detailed plans, financing, power access, or tech company commitments. While no AI data centers are currently operating in the state and only five have the necessary permits, these projects are scaring communities, pressuring local officials, and threatening community character. Examples include proposals in Archbald (Lackawanna County) and Montgomery County.

Earlier, the governor proposed "GRID Requirements" requiring data centers to:

• Supply and fully pay for their own electricity (with a growing share from clean sources such as solar, advanced nuclear, and battery storage), without shifting costs to residents or businesses.
• Be transparent with communities, hire locally, provide community benefits agreements, and obtain local approval (the state will not approve projects lacking local support).
• Meet higher environmental standards protecting clean air and pure water under the state constitution.

The House passed related legislation on a bipartisan basis, but the Senate has not acted. In response, the governor is issuing an executive order making these GRID Requirements legally binding. Developers must:

1. File a notice of intent to comply.
2. Submit detailed plans for review by the Department of Environmental Protection. (Does this not put the cart before the house? Does not the project need to obtain local planning approval? I can see providing detailed conceptual plans.)
3. Sign a consent order with penalties for noncompliance. (Noncompliance with what? Answer: Sales Tax Exception and Fast Track Permitting)

Noncompliant projects will be barred from necessary approvals and disqualified from the existing sales-tax exemption on data center equipment. Additional measures in the order:

• Immediately remove all data centers from the Fast Track permitting program (and bar future ones).
• Prohibit nondisclosure agreements, requiring full transparency with communities.
• Direct a Special Counsel on Energy Affordability to work with the Public Utility Commission so that data centers—not homeowners or businesses—bear all related infrastructure costs (even if a facility later closes) and so that data centers are the first to be curtailed in grid emergencies.

The governor emphasizes that these steps protect Pennsylvanians from higher utility bills, environmental harm, and unwanted development while restoring local control. Developers unwilling to meet the standards are told they should look elsewhere.

What are GRID Requirements ?

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