On Tuesday Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro (D) signed an executive order “implementing the strictest standards in the nation for AI data centers — because I will not allow Pennsylvanians to be bullied by greedy developers and bulldozed by the lawyers working for these big tech companies.”
The order comes on the heels of intense backlash in the Commonwealth and across the country against AI Data centers.
The Executive Order 2026-05, directs Commonwealth agencies to require all data center proposals applying for permits with the Commonwealth to comply with the Governor’s Responsible Infrastructure Development (GRID) Requirements, blocking speculative, irresponsible data center projects from moving forward, giving local communities more power over data center development, and protecting Pennsylvania residents. The Executive Order directs the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to evaluate permit applications from proposed data centers only if developers have made a legally binding commitment to meet the Governor’s GRID Requirements and have received local approval.
Credit: Lower Bucks Hospital
The GRID requirements were initially voluntary, that is no longer is the case per the governors order.
“Starting today, (artificial intelligence) data center developers who want to do business in our commonwealth must respect our communities and abide by these stringent requirements,” Shapiro said. “And if they can’t agree to do that, well, they should stop considering Pennsylvania a home for their project.”
Shapiro who is running for reelection against Republican state Treasurer Stacey Garrity who has criticized him for not limiting data centers, which provide the computing power behind e-commerce websites, streaming service and more.
A July Quinnipiac poll surveying registered voters has Shapiro leading that race by 13 points. That is the closest polling number for Garrity, according to Real Clear Politics.
Secretary of the state Department of Environmental Protection Jessica Shirley said developers who don’t follow the standards won’t get their permit applications reviewed by the agency until local land use approval are obtained, which would slow their progress.
The standards call for: providing their own power sources, with an increasing portion coming from renewable energy sources like solar, advanced nuclear or battery storage; local hiring processes with a “robust” community benefits agreement; public transparency; and compliance with clean air and pure water standards.
The new permit review process will apply to all new data center permit applications going forward. In addition, the Department of Revenue (DOR) will update the Computer Data Center Equipment Exemption Program Guidelines to ensure applicants for the sales and use tax exemption also comply with the GRID Requirements.
Shapiro repeatedly called Tuesday’s action “the strictest guardrails in the nation,” though it fell short of a total moratorium on the building and constructing of AI data centers.
Shapiro says he has repeatedly called on the Pennsylvania General Assembly to establish clear, enforceable protections for Pennsylvanians as data center development accelerates. While the House has advanced numerous pieces of legislation to codify the Governor’s GRID Requirements, Senate Republican leaders have refused to take action on data center protections.
According to the Penn Capital -Star, The two parties have accused the other of flip-flopping on data centers after both Shapiro and Garrity welcomed the state’s largest single investment from Amazon to develop a pair of data centers in Luzerne County one year ago.
Credit: Amazon
Over the last two months or so, officials in Bensalem Twp, Falls Township, and Morrisville Borough have approved temporary pauses on reviewing land development data center projects while each municipality reviews its policies with regards to data center zoning and regulation.
You can read the full press release from Governor Shapiro by clicking this link
You can read the governor’s executive order in its entirety by clicking here
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