Shapiro Signs Order Curbing 'Predatory' AI Data Centers in PA

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro signed Executive Order 2026-05 on August 18, pulling AI data center projects out of the state's Fast Track permitting program and requiring developers to make a legally binding commitment to a new state framework before they can seek environmental permits, The New York Times reported.

"We have a long history in Pennsylvania of industry running roughshod over our communities to make a buck," Shapiro said at the signing.

The order builds on what his administration calls the Governor's Responsible Infrastructure Development, or GRID, requirements: energy affordability, transparency and community engagement, workforce and economic development, and environmental protection. Projects also need local approval before state permits advance, and nondisclosure agreements on data center projects are now prohibited.

Shapiro's language is the surprise. Little more than a year ago he stood with Amazon to announce a $20 billion AI data-center investment in Pennsylvania. He now calls speculative developers "predatory" and accuses some of "being aggressive with township officials, bullying our neighbors" and "threatening to fundamentally change the character of our communities."

The order lands the same week President Trump warned that data-center opponents want to "end up backwards and poor," a direct collision between a Democratic governor with 2028 ambitions and Washington's push to accelerate build-out. It joins 442 other infrastructure alerts on our AI infrastructure tracker from the last 90 days.

Critics say the order falls short: it does not prohibit developers from building, only reshapes what they must sign to do so.