SALEM, Ohio — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is making his stance on data centers clear after signing an executive order on Aug. 18 that orders the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to only consider data centers in the state if they adhere to the governor’s GRID standards.
Known as the Governor’s Responsible Infrastructure Development, Shapiro released full GRID standards in May that aim to protect energy affordability, promote transparency and community engagement, support workforce and economic development and strengthen environmental protection.
“My message to data center developers is clear: if you can’t agree to our strict requirements and get the community where you want to build to say ‘yes,’ you’re not going to have the Commonwealth’s support either,” Shapiro said in a statement.
“These are some of the biggest companies in the world — they can afford to be good neighbors, follow the rules, and do this right.”
Data center proposals to fuel artificial intelligence have been popping up across the state that consume millions of gallons of water, take up hundreds of acres of land and use large amounts of electricity. This has led to local and statewide concerns over energy affordability and water and land usage.
Pennsylvania Farm Bureau President Tommy Nagle applauded Shapiro’s executive order for ensuring “farmers and rural communities are not asked to bear the costs of data center development.”
However, he noted more work needs to be done to protect farmland.
“We are hopeful that the Governor and the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission will take additional action to protect agricultural land from unnecessary transmission lines and other infrastructure needed to support data center development, including safeguards against the use of eminent domain to take farmland for projects that primarily serve private data centers,” Nagle said in a statement.
Under the executive order, if a developer does not adhere to GRID standards, the DEP will not consider a data center permit until all local approvals are secured.
The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue will also not grant a tax exemption under the Computer Data Center Equipment Exemption Program Guidelines unless a data center project meets GRID standards.
The GRID standards outlined in the order include transparency requirements, like banning the use of non-disclosure agreements in connection with a data center project and submitting annual electricity and water consumption reports.
The mandate creates the Governor’s Special Counsel for Energy Affordability, which will work with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to create rules that protect Pennsylvania consumers, including requiring data centers to pay for all interconnection costs.
It also directs the DEP to identify and assess whether updated environmental regulations are necessary to reduce emissions and to expedite permitting of clean energy generation and data center development on brownfield and other industrial sites.
Alongside the executive order, Shapiro announced he is removing all artificial intelligence data center projects from the Pennsylvania Permit Fast Track Program and will not consider data center projects for this program moving forward.
To get GRID status, developers have to submit a joint application to the DOR and Office of Transformation and Opportunity (OTO) detailing how they will meet the four core GRID standards.
(Liz Partsch can be reached at epartsch@ farmanddairy.com or 330-337-3419.)
