Josh Shapiro will unveil a plan to manage Pennsylvania's data center boom

Gov. Josh Shapiro will introduce 'Governor's Responsible Infrastructure Development' standards in his budget address that would require data center developers to cover new power costs, commit to transparency and local hiring, and meet water‑conservation standards; he will ask the Legislature to codify the guidelines and link compliance to faster permitting and available tax credits.

Gov. Josh Shapiro plans to unveil a set of state standards to guide the rapid growth of data centers in Pennsylvania during his annual budget address. He will present the proposal as the "Governor's Responsible Infrastructure Development" standards and ask the divided Legislature to codify them into law. The proposal ties state support—such as faster permitting and tax credits—to developers meeting specific conditions. Shapiro framed the effort as responding to community concerns about local impacts, utility bills, and environmental protections while linking the buildout to broader competitiveness in artificial intelligence. What the proposal includes: - The standards would ask data center developers to bring their own power generation or fully pay for any new generation their projects require, to avoid shifting costs to homeowners and businesses. - Developers would be expected to meet strict transparency and community engagement requirements so local residents know who is building and what is planned. - The proposal calls for hiring and training local workers and entering community benefit agreements to support host towns. - Projects would need to adhere to high environmental standards, with a particular emphasis on water conservation. - Shapiro said developers meeting these conditions would receive "speed and certainty" in permitting and access to available tax credits, and he urged lawmakers to codify the principles. Summary: The plan is intended to set state-level guardrails as data center construction accelerates in Pennsylvania and to signal standards to both industry and communities. Shapiro will present the standards in his budget address and request that the Legislature make them law; the Legislature's response and any resulting legal changes are undetermined at this time.