The midterm 2026 election that ushered in a Democratic-controlled Congress sent a strong message from voters on a number of topics and .one of them – AI and data centers – had already emerged as a potentially important political issue in a recent survey conducted by the Center for Energy and the Built Environment. The survey of 1,289 U.S. adults, conducted in August, found that AI and data center views could become a ballot-box issue in November. While the survey did not ask

As AI, automation and robotics continue to evolve, a new use for struggling malls and closed big box stores is emerging in the real estate market. The large spaces have the potential to be transformed into small-scale data centers that can bring computing power close to internet-connected, automated devices such as industrial equipment, medical devices, and self-driving cars, ensuring that data is sent and received instantaneously. The trend is just starting to gain notice as

A Pennsylvania lawmaker plans to introduce legislation to establish a first-of-its-kind statewide impact fee on data centers. State Sen. Gene Yaw, R-Williamsport, recently began circulating a co-sponsorship memo to all Senate members, asking for their support of the proposed legislation. He said the legislation will be modeled after the state’s Marcellus Shale impact fee program that was established under Act 13 of 2012 during the early stages of the boom in unconventional ga

Pennsylvania is facing urgent challenges in meeting rapidly rising energy demand while aging coal and natural gas-fired power plants have been retired and new projects are not being built quickly enough to provide the new generation needed to maintain reliable electric service. A recently released preliminary assessment evaluates the possibility of reusing energy-related brownfield sites and deactivated power plants for new power generation or data centers and other large-l

The U.S. House recently passed its first legislative action to limit the costs of AI development on utility ratepayers as concerns about the effects of such rapid buildout are rippling across the country. The Ratepayer Protection Act, H.R. 9340, was overwhelmingly approved in a 417-3 bipartisan vote. The bill requires that large energy load data centers be responsible for the costs of all new energy infrastructure necessary to serve them, protecting existing ratepayers from h

Rapid data center growth could cause serious electric reliability risks across Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic region and lead to blackouts, a recent state report warns. The Public Utility Commission released an independent analysis conducted by national consulting firm Synapse Energy Economics that found that the reliability risk by 2030 is nearly six times worse than what regional electric grid operator PJM is forecasting using current load predictions. If demand grows fa

Electricity use in Pennsylvania is forecast to jump by more than 18% annually through 2030 primarily due to the growth in data centers, a new forecast indicates. The Public Utility Commission released its annual Electric Power Outlook Report, which found that the state’s power needs could change substantially at the same time as the region is facing challenges in upgrading grid infrastructure and bringing new power generation online at the pace needed to meet the rising deman

Data centers could account for about 12% of the nation’s electricity use by the end of the decade as artificial intelligence continues its rapid growth, according to a recent analysis from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The lab’s United States Data Center Energy Usage Report: 2025 Update estimates that U.S. data centers will use about 649 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2030, equivalent to 11.8% of total U.S. electricity consumption under its reference case. That is

Gov. Josh Shapiro's Executive Order 2026-05, signed Aug. 18, requires data center developers to obtain municipal and county land use approval before the Department of Environmental Protection will issue their permits. The order covers projects with peak demand above 25 megawatts. Because it attaches to the filing rather than to the development itself, projects already holding some DEP permits may find later applications subject to the new process. Developers who sign a legall

Electric customers in the Mid-Atlantic region served by grid operator PJM Interconnection will continue to see higher bills after its most recent auction for future electricity again reached the temporary price cap, largely due to increasing demand from data centers. PJM reported that the capacity auction price cap of $325 per megawatt-day (MW-day) for the period beginning in June 2028 was reached and a total of 138,318 MW of guaranteed 24/7 electric supply was obtained for $

Pennsylvania municipal officials and economic development and planning specialists have a new resource to help them navigate the process of planning for future data center development in their communities. In conjunction with the recent release of the Governor’s Responsible Infrastructure Development (GRID) initiative establishing standards for data centers to receive support from the commonwealth, the administration also announced a new local government toolkit to help munic

Requirements for Pennsylvania data center developers seeking state support, faster permitting, and access to tax incentives were recently unveiled by Gov. Josh Shapiro. The Governor’s Responsible Infrastructure Development (GRID) Standards were initially proposed as part of Shapiro’s 2026-27 budget outline, and the recently released standards provide details of that plan. The GRID standards establish best practices that data centers must comply with to receive support from st

Municipalities across Pennsylvania are being urged to put in place an ordinance regulating data center development as the number of projects being announced continues to accelerate. Data centers are large warehouse-like buildings that house networked computers, storage systems, and computing infrastructure used to store, process, and distribute massive amounts of data. These energy-intensive centers operate 24/7 to support cloud services, AI, internet traffic, and online appl

A new review article in Oxford Open Energy by Dr. Corey Young, executive director of the Center for Energy and the Built Environment at Washington & Jefferson College, makes the argument data centers are critical infrastructure, and should be governed that way. The paper, titled “Clouds on the horizon: an integrative review of data centers and local governance in the United States,” synthesizes sprawling literature on various aspects of data center development, including ener

Pennsylvania’s utility regulator recently approved an order to guide how data centers and other energy-intensive customers can connect to the electric grid to ensure that existing ratepayers don’t shoulder the costs for infrastructure upgrades. The Public Utility Commission unanimously approved a model tariff for large load customers following an extensive review to address the rapid expansion of large load customers and the potential impacts on customer costs, infrastructure

Pennsylvania has a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” to benefit economically by hosting large-scale data centers and supplying the power and manufacturing the equipment that development needs across the PJM regional grid footprint, a new study found. The report, “Pennsylvania Builds the Cloud: Manufacturing, Energy, and Data Center Development” was recently released by the Pittsburgh Technology Council and the Philadelphia Alliance for Capital and Technologies. The study f

Legislation to ensure that data centers pay for their energy usage is coming to the forefront in both Pennsylvania’s legislature and Congress. As energy prices continue to rise and demand for power from data center projects explodes, legislators want to make sure that the costs of adding generation to the electric grid and upgrading electrical infrastructure are not passed along to residential and small business utility ratepayers. The Pennsylvania House recently approved the

Up to half of data centers scheduled to become operational in 2026 may be delayed due to power constraints, supply chain issues and community opposition, a new report found. The report by Sightline Climate , an energy transition research and intelligence company, tracks 777 hyperscale data centers announced globally since 2024, which account for 190 gigawatts (GW) of electricity demand for about 140 projects. It found that while more than 16 GW of capacity is scheduled to com

After pressure from federal and state officials, regional electric grid operator PJM Interconnection has agreed to extend its price cap on some wholesale energy costs for an additional two years. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro recently announced the extension of the cap on the maximum price PJM will pay for guaranteed electricity during its twice-yearly capacity auctions. The cap was first put in place in 2024. “This is going to save 67 million Americans $27 billion on their

Energy is a main focus in Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s fiscal 2026-27 budget proposal, as he continues to push to keep electric rates down for residential customers while also encouraging economic development. Part of his $53.2 billion budget proposal addresses the development of data centers in the state, which have become an increasing concern to communities and the primary source of surging electric demand. That has sent costs across the PJM regional electric grid up