HARRISBURG — Since the beginning of the year, Spotlight PA has been covering the debate in Harrisburg and across Pennsylvania over how to handle the onslaught of data center developments hitting the commonwealth.
State lawmakers, county and township officials, and residents in areas where data centers are planned have discussed everything from high energy and water use driving up utility prices to electric grid instability.
These concerns come alongside big hopes: Companies are investing billions of dollars in these projects, which could create local construction jobs and more.
Policymakers are still trying to determine the best way to regulate data centers. On the table are economic incentives, like the faster permitting for community-minded developers that Gov. Josh Shapiro is proposing; new legislation that would allow the Public Utility Commission to regulate large-scale data centers; or even a blanket moratorium on data center development while the state studies their impact.
As the debates continue, Spotlight PA will be monitoring how lawmakers approach regulation, which corporate entities are donating to which members of the legislature, and how local zoning boards are exerting authority over development.
Here are some numbers that stand out from our coverage these past months.
53 — The number of proposed data centers in Pennsylvania according to Track Data Centers, a mapping tool created by Scranton native Emilia Doda. The tool monitors where proposed data centers would be located and their proximity to potential energy sources. Pennsylvania already has 52 active data centers, according to the map.
42% — The percent of Pennsylvanians who said they do not want a data center built in or near their community, according to a recent poll. The poll also found that over 70% of people are concerned about the energy and water usage of the centers, and that a majority of Pennsylvanians, around 60%, think data centers will create a significant number of new jobs in the state.
3 — The number of years for which state Sen. Katie Muth (D., Chester) wants to enact a moratorium on “hyperscale” data center development. She circulated a co-sponsorship memo to her colleagues last month arguing that her bill would give decision-makers the time to “do meaningful research and planning that should have been done before this data center development rush began.”
$2 billion — The amount of money the Shapiro administration projects that the state could lose in tax revenue by 2031 due to a tax exemption for data centers. In 2021, the state removed the cap on a tax exemption that applies when data centers purchase computer equipment. At the same time, the change amended the law to establish that data centers are not required to report their spending, which leaves the state without a confirmed total of how much revenue it has lost under the exemption.
$20 billion — The amount Amazon Web Services says it will invest in the state over the next decade to build two data centers in Luzerne and Bucks Counties. They also promised to create thousands of temporary construction jobs, and hundreds of permanent ones.
800% — The increase in price for energy that generators sold to utilities at PJM’s energy auction in 2024. Since then, the grid operator has agreed to put a cap on the amount that the price could increase after a lawsuit from Shapiro. PJM’s market monitor said that data centers “have already had a significant impact and will have additional significant impacts” on customers.