Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro Implements Nation's Strictest Guardrails on AI Data Centers via Executive Order
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro has signed an executive order to establish what he describes as the nation's strictest guardrails on Artificial Intelligence (AI) data centers. This action comes in response to a surge of speculative data center proposals across the Commonwealth, many of which, according to Shapiro, lack detailed plans, sufficient financing, and disregard for local communities. The executive order implements the Governor's Responsible Infrastructure Development (GRID) Requirements, which were previously introduced in his budget address. These requirements mandate that data center developers bring their own power, pay all associated electricity costs, obtain an increasing portion of power from clean energy sources, be transparent with local communities, hire local workers, offer community benefits agreements, and secure local legal approval. The order also removes all data centers from the state's Fast Track permitting program and makes future data center projects ineligible. Developers mu... 
