ITIF - The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
08/18/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/18/2026 15:49
Pennsylvania Should Welcome Responsible Data Center Investment, Not Treat It as the Enemy, Says ITIF
WASHINGTON-Following Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro's executive order imposing new requirements on data center development, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), the leading think tank for science and technology policy, released the following statement from ITIF President Daniel Castro:
Governor Shapiro is right that data center development should be transparent, that companies should engage with communities, and that they should pay the full cost of the electricity and infrastructure they require. But this executive order goes too far. It mixes sensible safeguards with unnecessary restrictions and rhetoric that risks making responsible investment harder.Many of the requirements in this executive order are already becoming standard industry practice. Major technology companies have committed to protecting ratepayers from data center-related costs and to ambitious water stewardship goals, including becoming water positive by 2030. Transparency and meaningful community engagement are also reasonable expectations.Other provisions in the governor's order are harder to justify. Removing data centers from Pennsylvania's fast-track permitting process will make it harder for the state to compete for investment without providing a clear public benefit. And calling technology companies "bad actors" or accusing them of "running roughshod" over communities is needlessly adversarial. Pennsylvania should be setting clear rules for responsible development, not treating companies that want to invest in the state as the enemy.Government should also be careful not to confuse its responsibilities with those of developers. Companies should address the direct impacts of their projects, but requiring them to enter into community benefit agreements that fund schools, infrastructure, and long-term economic development goes beyond mitigating those impacts. Data centers already generate substantial tax revenue and economic activity for the communities where they locate. It should be up to elected officials-not companies-to decide how those public resources are invested and how communities benefit from them.Pennsylvania can protect ratepayers, communities, and the environment without putting up unnecessary barriers to the investment needed to build the infrastructure that will power America's AI economy. The goal should be responsible growth, not growth that is unnecessarily difficult.
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