Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro signed an executive order imposing new restrictions on large AI data centers consuming more than 25 megawatts. These data centers will lose access to the state’s fast-track permitting program and must pay for the costs they impose on the electrical grid rather than passing them to other consumers. The order also calls for a public map of proposed facilities and requires data centers to report their energy and water consumption annually. More than 100 data centers have been proposed in Pennsylvania, but only 20 have submitted permit applications to the state’s Department of Environmental Protection. Nationally, at least 37 people have been arrested this year in protests tied to AI data centers.
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