Data Center Order Picks Up Reinforcements

A little over a week after signing Executive Order 2026-05, which directs state agencies to build the GRID data center standards we've told you about into permitting and legally enforceable agreements, Shapiro is racking up a broad coalition of allies, per an Aug. 26 release from the governor's office. Building trades unions NABTU and LiUNA both endorsed it, with LiUNA's Brent Booker calling it “commonsense,” and Amherst College professor Austin Sarat went further in an op-ed, calling it “a model for the nation” that “other governors would be well advised to follow.” Environmental groups EEN Action, Climate Power, and Vote Solar voiced support as well, though with some adding that more still needs to be done, alongside a Wall Street Journal op-ed from former PA Congressman Patrick Murphy calling it “the sensible middle.” For Monroe County, where Smithfield, Pocono, and Tobyhanna townships have been fighting data center proposals for over a year, the order could be significant, though some local opponents have said they wanted Shapiro to go further and enact a full pause, as some other states have done.