Clean Air Council Welcomes New Data Center Standards While Urging Stronger Environmental Protections 

Today, Governor Josh Shapiro signed an executive order that creates new rules for companies that want to build data centers in Pennsylvania. 
 
The Governor’s Responsible Infrastructure Development (GRID) standards require data center developers to bring their own energy capacity, ensure transparency with local communities, and contribute to local workforce development. 

This executive order will enact these standards to set legally binding requirements for all data center developers seeking permits in Pennsylvania. 

In addition to complying with GRID standards, data center developers would be required to obtain local or municipal approvals before a state permit can be issued. It would also prohibit non-disclosure agreements related to data center projects and prevent the fast-tracking of such projects. Notably, the executive order did not propose a moratorium on data center development.  

Alex Bomstein, Executive Director of Clean Air Council, issued the following statement: 

“Pennsylvania needs a statewide moratorium on AI data centers to give communities the time needed to protect themselves from this rush of polluting proposals. The Pennsylvania public has been clear on this. Today’s executive order is not a moratorium, but it is a welcome step in the right direction. Requiring local voices with a greater stake in the outcome to weigh in before the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection reviews the permit applications is a sensible change that will conserve resources and weed out some of the worst proposals. And while the GRID principles fall short of the protections that Pennsylvanians deserve, they are better than today’s wild west landscape.  

“Energy usage and air pollution are still major concerns, and it’s disappointing that stronger protections have not been put in place.  The biggest danger from AI data centers is the fossil fuels burned to power them. GRID’s emission reduction efforts are weak. The technology and industrial infrastructure exists today to power data centers with renewables and batteries alone.  

“Clean Air Council continues to urge the Governor, the General Assembly, and every official grappling with dirty AI data center proposals to focus on protecting the public from the dangerous pollution they so often promise to bring to our neighborhoods.”