Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who threw his weight behind the booming data center sector last year, is now targeting the industry with new restrictions as it has become increasingly unpopular.
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He signed an executive order Tuesday that will require any new data center projects to receive approval from local authorities to get the state government’s blessing.
While it doesn’t amount to a moratorium — such as neighboring New York has enacted — the measure could prevent many developments from advancing, as they have faced a growing wave of pushback from residents and local officials in recent months.
The order would also remove all data centers from the governor’s signature Fast Track program, focused on cutting red tape for businesses, and would require operators to pay for their own power and meet water use standards.
“We’ve seen an unacceptable number of speculative proposals for data centers swamp our commonwealth — many of them led by developers who have no regard for local communities,” Shapiro said Tuesday.
“They’re threatening to fundamentally change the character of our communities,” he added.
The governor's office counted 100-plus data center projects in various stages of development across the state.
Shapiro implemented what he called “the strictest guardrails in the nation” as the Democratic governor seeks reelection this year.
His previous support for data center development, highlighted by an event with President Donald Trump in Pittsburgh in July 2025 to tout the industry, has been identified as a potential campaign weakness by his Republican opponent, Stacy Garrity.
Shapiro’s speech at the signing mentioned his visit to Archbald in Lackawanna County, a community of 7,500 that he said has fielded proposals for six data center campuses spanning 51 warehouses. It is one of many areas in northeast Pennsylvania that have become a target for data center builders due to the region's ample supply of power and undeveloped land.
The governor also alluded to a data center spat on his home turf in Montgomery County.
It appeared to be a reference to developer Brian O’Neill’s highly contentious proposal for a data center complex in Upper Merion Township, which municipal officials rejected last week.
