Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro ordered strict new guardrails on data centers in the state, joining a rush of states pushing back against soaring corporate investment fueled by the development of artificial intelligence.

Shapiro’s executive order requires local approval to receive state permits for data center projects, establishing a significant hurdle for new development. The governor, a Democrat and one-time proponent of data centers, also requires projects to abide by water conservation standards and pay the costs of higher electricity use, in addition to supplying their own generation.

“We’ve seen an unacceptable number of speculative proposals for data centers swamp our Commonwealth – many of them led by developers who have no regard for local communities,” Shapiro said in a statement Tuesday.

Growing local opposition to data centers is threatening the ambitions of the nation’s biggest tech companies as the US races China to develop artificial intelligence. New York Governor Kathy Hochul recently announced a pause of as much as a year on environmental permits for more data centers. Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican and longtime champion of data centers, has also ordered a pause while the state audits new projects.

Shapiro — who is running for reelection in November and is widely seen as a potential presidential candidate in 2028 — had initially championed data center projects to attract tech companies to Pennsylvania.

He backed a $20 billion Amazon.com Inc. project that encompasses campuses in Luzerne County and Bucks County. Those projects, which are still in the planning and permitting stages, face heavy opposition. Shapiro’s opponent in the governor’s race, Republican State Treasurer Stacey Garrity, has called for a pause in data center development.

Shapiro hasn’t called for a moratorium. Before this week, he had favored voluntary measures to guide responsible development, and used his executive powers to push through his Governor’s Responsible Infrastructure Development standards, a set of accountability measures that Pennsylvania’s divided General Assembly failed to codify.

His new order, besides addressing increased demand on water and electricity infrastructure, prohibits state agencies from signing non-disclosure agreements for data center projects. It also establishes that Pennsylvania will no longer fast-track permitting for data centers.

Pennsylvania currently has 71 active data centers and 66 proposed projects, according to the Data Center Proposal Tracker. A July poll by Quinnipiac University found that 74% of the state’s voters would oppose building AI data centers in their communities.

The new rules will require projects to find local sources of clean energy, favoring existing power providers, including nuclear plants, Evercore ISI analysts led by Nicholas Amicucci said in a report.

— By Liz Skalka (Bloomberg News)