Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro says he wants companies that set up shop in the commonwealth to have “CEOs that give a damn about the community where they’re going to be,” not data center projects that “run roughshod over our communities.”
Shapiro made the comment during an appearance on CNBC with Chobani CEO Hamdi Ulukaya. Chobani announced it was investing $1.2 billion to build a dairy production plant in Allentown, Pa., that is expected to create 900 jobs in the area over the next five years.
The governor signed an executive order last month that puts limits on data center development in Pennsylvania, requiring local approval for any projects to receive state permits. Shapiro has previously embraced data center projects in the state, including a $20 billion commitment by Amazon last year to build multiple AI data centers in the Keystone State.
But data centers have grown increasingly unpopular in Pennsylvania and across the country, and his prior support presented a potential liability both for Shapiro’s reelection campaign and his prospects as a potential presidential contender in 2028. A June Quinnipiac University poll found 76% of registered Pennsylvania voters opposed having a data center in their community, with just 24% approving of how Shapiro has handled data centers in Pennsylvania.
Shapiro’s Aug. 18 executive order takes data center projects, including Amazon’s, off Pennsylvania's fast-track permitting program.
“We want to frankly knock out the people who don't view the world the way Hamdi and Chobani do; that they're partners with the community,” Shapiro told CNBC. In addition to earning local support, he added, new projects have to generate and pay for their own power, and protect the state’s water supply and air quality. “You can't saddle local homeowners and businesses.”
(Photo: Gov. Josh Shapiro via Commonwealth Media Services)