(The Center Square) – Gov. Josh Shapiro and a pair of Republican lawmakers on Wednesday made separate announcements tied to the continuing wave of data center proposals that have stirred controversy and opposition in many parts of the state.
Shapiro, a Democrat and a leading supporter of artificial intelligence, issued details of voluntary standards that data center proposers will have to meet if they want support from state government. Those standards deal with energy affordability, transparency and community engagement, economic development, and the environment.
“I’ve heard directly from Pennsylvanians who are concerned about the impact data center development could have on their communities, the environment, and their utility bills,” Shapiro said in a press release. “That’s why I am putting clear guardrails in place to hold developers accountable to protect consumers, strengthen communities, and put Pennsylvanians first.”
Asked for a reaction, Senate Republican Majority Leader Joe Pittman of Indiana County said the “broad construct” of Shapiro’s proposal “aligns in many ways with shared concerns expressed by many Pennsylvanians.” Pittman said he expected lawmakers would keep talking about data center development.
Republican Sen. Jarrett Coleman of Lehigh County and Republican Rep. Jamie Walsh of Luzerne County, meanwhile, said they introduced bills that would repeal a state sales tax exemption for data center equipment that was enacted in 2021. Other bills from the pair of lawmakers would allow municipalities to put an 18-month moratorium on data center applications.
“The proliferation of huge data centers in the Lehigh Valley and other regions of our state is extremely concerning because their massive energy use, water use and noise output can impact residents,” said Coleman.
The senator announced his intention to file his tax break-removal bill more than a month ago, and Democratic state Rep. Greg Vitali of Delaware County filed a similar bill more than three months ago. On Wednesday, Shapiro said he want the Legislature to amend the tax break law so only data centers that meet his voluntary standards will get the tax break.
An organization opposed to the rushed nature of the data center/artificial intelligence phenomenon, Food & Water Watch, issued its own statement on Shapiro’s announcement.
Pennsylvania State Director Megan McDonough described the Shapiro plan as “a set of voluntary half-measures from corporations who want to exploit our state for profit” and said it would not protect the water, energy costs or quality of life.
McDonough said Shapiro “shouldn’t be regulating data center access to state support – he should prohibit data center developers from receiving that support in the first place.” McDonough said a moratorium on data center development is needed.
A three-year moratorium on large data center development in the state has been pitched in a memo circulated by state Sen. Katie Muth, a Chester County Democrat. On Wednesday, Muth said the bill based on that memo is likely to be filed soon.
“These are voluntary standards,” Muth said of the Shapiro announcement. Among other missing, desirable requirements that could be put on data center proposals, she said, is one that would require a “setback” from the edge of a property.
“It still does not preclude a hyperscale data center from being built literally at someone’s backyard,” Muth said of the Shapiro standards.
A reaction from the Data Center Coalition, an industry group, was contained in a press release issued by a public relations firm.
The press release quoted a center vice president, Dan Diorio, as saying Shapiro’s announcement “creates a complicated framework that would present significant challenges for future development and operation of data centers in the commonwealth.”
Another public relations firm put out a statement for Clean Power PA, a clean energy group. In it, Clean Power PA Chair Katie Blume said the Shapiro concept would help data center growth happen responsibly and “with real protections for families, small businesses, and host communities.”
Shapiro also announced availability of a “toolkit” to help municipalities deal with data center proposals. Kyle Kopko, executive director of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania, said the package had “useful information for local governments.”
