\u201cI\u2019m putting these developers on notice and letting them know that we will not let them bully Pennsylvanians, disregard our constitutional right to clean air and pure water, and drive up our utility bills,\u201d Shapiro wrote<\/a> on X. \u201cI\u2019m using the full weight of my executive authority to block the objectionable, unwarranted projects and put the nation\u2019s strictest set of protections in place.\u201d<\/p>\n The order also removes data centers from Pennsylvania’s Permit Fast Track Program and prohibits state agencies from signing non-disclosure agreements related to data center projects.<\/p>\n Pennsylvania will also create a public map of proposed facilities and require operating data centers to report their energy and water consumption annually beginning in July 2027.<\/p>\n The executive order also directs the state\u2019s Special Counsel for Energy Affordability to seek utility rules making data centers cover certain grid costs and face curtailment first during some emergencies unless they secure enough power to meet their demand.<\/p>\n In the executive order, Shapiro noted that more than 100 data centers have reportedly been proposed in Pennsylvania, though only 20 have submitted permit applications to the state\u2019s Department of Environmental Protection.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom Archbald to Montgomery County to all across Pennsylvania, to your comments, texts, calls, and letters to my office, I\u2019ve heard you loud and clear,\u201d Shapiro wrote. \u201cPennsylvanians do not want AI data centers in their communities that would raise their utility costs and pollute their resources.\u201d<\/p>\n Data center backlash<\/p>\n Opposition to AI data centers has spread across the U.S. as communities push back over electricity and the environmental impacts as more sites come online.<\/p>\n In January, a Brookings analysis warned<\/a> that local resistance could slow or block AI infrastructure projects and called for binding community benefit agreements.<\/p>\n In March, Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle, and xAI signed a White House pledge<\/a> to pay for new electricity generation and infrastructure needed for their data centers as costs rose after the start of the U.S. led war with Iran.<\/p>\n![\"Myriad:](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/myriad-gpt6-8-17.png@webp.webp\"\/)
<\/a>Myriad: When will OpenAI release GPT-6? Click to make your prediction<\/a>.<\/p>\n