Imagine a world without smartphones. No Netflix or YouTube. No online banking. No GPS navigation. No cloud storage. No telemedicine appointments. No remote work. No instant access to photos, files, or information from virtually anywhere on earth.
For most Americans, that world is hard to comprehend. Technology is so ubiquitous that we take it for granted. Yet those conveniences do not simply appear. They depend on essential infrastructure, called data centers, to function.
Just as previous generations invested in highways, railroads, airports, and electric grids, today’s economy depends on digital infrastructure. Data centers may be less visible than a bridge or telephone poles, but they are no less essential.
But here’s the irony: Many people who utilize the modern technology made possible by data centers – and whose demand for technology is increasing the demand for more data centers – oppose data center development. And that public backlash has led to various proposals to stop data center development.
Pennsylvania is left with a choice. We can grasp this historic opportunity to be a global leader in responsible energy and infrastructure development – and benefit from the meaningful investments and job growth it would create in communities across the Commonwealth. Or, we can watch those opportunities go elsewhere.
What we cannot do is embrace an economy powered by cloud computing, artificial intelligence, telemedicine, streaming services, online banking, and connected devices while opposing the physical infrastructure that makes those technologies work. Data centers are not separate from modern life. They are essential to how it functions.
That is why the PA Chamber has proposed a No Technology Pledge. The idea is straightforward, albeit tongue-in-cheek: Anyone calling to stop data center development should acknowledge that the technologies they use every day depend on the critical infrastructure they want to stop.
The pledge is not really about giving up technology. It’s about encouraging a more informed conversation. Once we acknowledge how important digital infrastructure has become, the real question is not whether data centers should exist, but how they can be developed responsibly so that the communities that want them can benefit. And that’s the key point.
Data center development should meet community-driven requirements. For instance, projects should be transparent, address environmental impacts, invest in the communities and people where they build, and ensure that new energy and water demand does not shift costs to ratepayers.
In fact, these are standards that are already being met in many places, despite widespread public opinion to the contrary, particularly on energy and water. The industry must do a better job telling its story on these issues, because it has a good story to tell.
Starting with energy costs. Nearly 300 data center developers, AI companies, and utilities have signed a pledge to protect American consumers from price hikes due to data center energy and infrastructure requirements and lower electricity costs for consumers in the long term. This is already playing out. A recent study found that data centers lowered average U.S. residential electricity rates between 2015-2024 as large data centers shouldered a greater share of utilities’ fixed costs and reduced demand charges on residential bills.
Water concerns are similarly overstated. Many data centers today use closed-loop cooling systems that recycle water, consuming as comparable to or less than an office building or restaurant. Picture an average residential swimming pool – that’s approximately how much water a closed-loop data center uses in a full year. According to data from U.S. national laboratories, the industry uses less water than residential lawns, golf courses, and nearly every category of agricultural activity.
While local, state, and federal regulations governing energy and water use already exist, communities can enact additional safeguards to ensure that development happens responsibly. To help communities establish those standards locally, the PA Chamber’s Energy & Innovation Institute developed a model ordinance for responsible data center development, as well as an educational toolkit to help residents and community leaders separate the facts from misleading rhetoric.
Every generation builds the infrastructure that powers the future. Previous generations built roads, pipelines, power plants, airports, and telecommunications networks. Our generation is being asked to build the digital infrastructure that supports the technologies we use every day.
Pennsylvania should insist on strong standards, meaningful community engagement, and responsible development. But we should also recognize a simple reality: if we want to lead in the economy of today and tomorrow, we need to be willing to build the infrastructure that makes that opportunity possible.
Jon Anzur is the senior vice president of public affairs for the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry.