Pennsylvania Data Center Order Removes Projects From Fast-Track Permitting
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro signed an executive order August 18 that removes data centers from the state’s Fast Track permitting program while adding transparency, community and environmental guardrails.
Microgrid Media Editorial Desk
Published · 3 min read
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro signed an executive order on August 18, 2026, imposing new safeguards on data-center development across the state and immediately removing data centers from Pennsylvania’s Fast Track permitting program. The Pennsylvania data center order also restricts confidentiality arrangements between state agencies and developers, adding another layer of scrutiny as rapidly growing computing loads raise questions about electricity costs, grid capacity and local impacts.
The order takes effect as Pennsylvania attracts large data-center investments because of its power infrastructure, natural-gas resources and access to major East Coast markets. Reuters reported that agencies under the governor’s jurisdiction are now barred from signing non-disclosure agreements with data-center developers and that projects face environmental, transparency and community safeguards.
Fast-track permitting is no longer available to data centers
One of the clearest immediate changes is the removal of data centers from Pennsylvania’s PA Permit Fast Track program. The program is designed to coordinate permitting for major economic-development and infrastructure projects that require action from multiple state agencies.
The change marks a significant shift from the framework Pennsylvania established earlier this year. Under the administration’s Governor’s Responsible Infrastructure Development, or GRID, standards, qualifying data-center projects could become eligible for coordinated permitting support if they met requirements involving energy affordability, transparency, workforce development and environmental protection.
The August executive action means data centers will no longer receive that expedited treatment simply through the state’s Fast Track mechanism while the administration applies tighter oversight to proposed projects.
Power costs remain central to Pennsylvania’s approach
The Pennsylvania data center order arrives against a broader state policy backdrop that puts electricity supply and grid costs at the center of data-center development.
Pennsylvania’s existing GRID framework requires developers seeking state support to provide an energy plan explaining how a project will meet its electricity needs without shifting costs to other utility customers. The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development says developers seeking GRID certification are expected to demonstrate compliance with standards covering energy affordability, transparency and community engagement, workforce development and environmental protection.
The governor’s May GRID announcement further specified that qualifying developers would be expected to build, bring online or procure incremental electric capacity and pay costs associated with interconnection, transmission, distribution, network upgrades, ancillary services and dedicated facilities attributable to their projects.
Those requirements reflect a growing policy question for utilities and grid operators: how to accommodate hundreds of megawatts of concentrated new demand without transferring infrastructure costs or reliability risks to existing customers.
The order also targets project secrecy
The executive action bars offices and agencies under Shapiro’s authority from entering non-disclosure agreements with data-center developers, according to Reuters. That provision addresses concerns that communities may learn about large projects only after developers have already secured land, power arrangements or government support.
Transparency was already one of the four pillars of Pennsylvania’s GRID framework. The state’s proposal to codify the standards has emphasized early community engagement, disclosure of project characteristics and greater accountability for projects seeking state benefits.
Data-center proposals can affect local transmission and distribution infrastructure, water systems, land use, emergency planning and tax bases, making access to project information important well before construction begins.
What happens next
The executive order is effective immediately, but its long-term effect will depend on how state agencies implement its requirements and how pending legislation related to Pennsylvania’s GRID standards proceeds.
The state is not imposing a blanket prohibition on data-center development. Instead, the current policy direction places more responsibility on developers to demonstrate that projects can secure adequate energy, manage environmental impacts, engage communities and avoid transferring costs to other electricity customers.
For developers evaluating Pennsylvania, the key change is that large computing projects now face a more restrictive state review environment than they did before August 18. For utilities and grid planners, the order reinforces the growing link between economic-development policy and decisions about who pays for generation, transmission and distribution capacity needed to serve large new loads.
The Microgrid Media Editorial Desk reports on microgrids, energy storage, grid modernization, data center power demand, distributed energy resources, and energy policy. Reporting published under the Editorial Desk byline is developed from primary regulatory records, utility filings, government documents, company disclosures, and independently verifiable sources, and is reviewed under Microgrid Media’s editorial standards.
Editorial oversight: Jonas Muthoni, Editor-in-Chief
