Shapiro deserves kudos for data center regulation efforts. But he can’t do it alone. | Editorial

Gov. Josh Shapiro’s sweeping executive order to slow the burgeoning data center development boom in Pennsylvania is a good first step, but it does not go far enough in curbing looming challenges to the state’s energy and water supply.

Shapiro’s directive is a sharp reversal from just a year ago, when he embraced high-tech investment in the commonwealth. Since then, bipartisan public sentiment has turned against data centers as reports about the downsides have come to light.

Even if Shapiro is following the polls instead of his gut, he deserves credit for listening to his constituents. Too many elected officials these days ignore voters once they get into office. (We’re looking at you, Sen. John Fetterman.)

Shapiro’s executive order certifies standards that he initially pitched as voluntary. Under the measure, all data center projects will be required to follow environmental, economic, and transparency requirements that are outlined in Shapiro’s so-called Governor’s Responsible Infrastructure Development benchmarks.

The governor’s mandate includes several other requirements for data centers regarding water conservation and the need to provide their own electricity generation or pay the costs associated with increased usage. The order also demands data centers provide community benefit agreements that include promises to hire and train local employees along with investments in schools or infrastructure.

Those are major improvements over the state’s initial efforts to essentially bend over backward for Big Tech. Yet, more must be done to protect Pennsylvanians and the environment.

» READ MORE: Pennsylvania’s data center boom needs a pause | Editorial

For starters, it makes no sense to offer lucrative tax breaks to data centers, which are largely being built by deep-pocketed companies controlled by mega-billionaires, including Sam Altman (OpenAI), Elon Musk (xAI), and Mark Zuckerberg (Meta).

The state House voted to repeal the tax breaks in June, but the measure stalled in the Republican-controlled Senate.

While Shapiro’s order gives local governments more control over data centers, it also creates the potential for a patchwork system in which one town opposes a center while a neighboring town approves its construction — with everyone in the region left to deal with the consequences. It may also leave poorer towns at the mercy of data center developers dangling economic development.

To be sure, data centers are not all bad. They offer billions of dollars in construction investment, tax revenue, and job creation.

But there are real concerns about the impact they will have — and are having — on the power grid and water supply. Residents have experienced sharp increases in electric bills, including a 20% increase in Pennsylvania since 2024.

Some said data centers caused their water wells to run dry, while others have complained about noise pollution at the facilities, including one in Vineland, N.J.

Electric executives across the country have warned of blackouts because of the surging demand for power from data centers.

Then there are the real safety and environmental concerns about plans to restart the nuclear reactor at Three Mile Island in order to provide power exclusively for Microsoft’s artificial intelligence data centers. The nuclear plant near Harrisburg was the site of a partial meltdown in 1979.

Pennsylvania lawmakers need to develop a comprehensive plan to address those concerns before the data centers get built and not after, when the bills literally come due to homeowners who will be left to shoulder higher utility costs.

Data centers present both a major opportunity and a challenge not just for Pennsylvania, but for the country and the rest of the world. So it should not just be on Shapiro to try to find a fair balance.

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The most logical plan should include an all-out effort to expand the growth in clean energy to offset the power demands of data centers. Unfortunately, the political divide undercuts the viability of any such proposals.

Donald Trump is a climate change denier who has worked relentlessly to undermine clean energy initiatives, while cozying up to oil executives. Meanwhile, Trump and recalcitrant Republican lawmakers in Harrisburg and Washington remain largely in the pocket of the billionaires behind data centers.

One of the biggest data center cheerleaders is Pennsylvania’s billionaire Sen. Dave McCormick, whose wife landed a big job earlier this year at Meta to help lead their global business and artificial intelligence expansion. Meta is a major developer of data centers.

Trump continues to champion policies that boost data centers and AI, which directly benefit his family’s lucrative cryptocurrency ventures that led to a windfall of more than $1 billion last year.

Pennsylvania’s constitution guarantees residents the right to clean air, pure water, and environmental preservation. Shapiro and other state lawmakers should focus on how to ensure that constitutional guarantee before moving ahead with more data centers.

Until a plan is in place, pausing data center development makes the most sense.