Pennsylvania Cracks Down on AI Data Centers as Backlash Grows

In brief

• Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro signed an executive order imposing new requirements on large data centers.
• Data centers will lose access to the state's fast-track permitting program and face new transparency and local approval requirements.
• The order calls for data centers to pay costs they impose on the electrical grid rather than passing them to other customers.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro signed an executive order Tuesday imposing new restrictions on large AI data centers, including rules aimed at making developers pay for their impact on the state's electrical grid.

Executive Order 2026-05 establishes new requirements for data centers with peak electricity demand above 25 megawatts. Developers seeking a streamlined state review must agree to Pennsylvania's environmental, energy, workforce, and community requirements and obtain necessary local approvals.

“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, and drive up our utility bills,” Shapiro wrote on X. “I’m using the full weight of my executive authority to block the objectionable, unwarranted projects and put the nation’s strictest set of protections in place.”